LINCOLN - Masks on in the Nebraska Legislature. Masks off? Some of the time? All of the time? Mask messages were confusing at the beginning of the pandemic, although now the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend people wear them. And still there are political messages — and people — that downplay or even scoff at the use of masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

So maybe it’s no wonder that as 49 senators gathered at the Capitol two weeks ago from all parts of the state, they brought with them a variety of perspectives about if and when they would wear masks in the hard-to-avoid close confines of the chamber, where they spend hours a day debating. Or at hearings where they sit several feet apart and listen to impassioned speeches from people.

Yes, the state Capitol is in Lincoln, where a mask mandate is in effect. But the Legislature is excluded from the requirement. So you see senators, many wearing masks while at their desks, seldom wearing masks as they speak into microphones during debate. And leaning in close for private conversations, sometimes one or both senators unmasked.

About 15% of senators don’t wear masks in the chamber or elsewhere in the Capitol.

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