A Johnson County commissioner urged constituents to contact Gov. Laura Kelly about her “horrendous decision.” A Republican U.S. Senate candidate said he shuddered at the thought of the state government telling people what to wear.

Kelly’s plan to require face masks in public spaces to fight a new spike in coronavirus cases in Kansas sparked an immediate backlash on Tuesday that threatened to undercut the mandate even before it goes into effect Friday. Conservative politicians dismissed the order as inappropriate and some county leaders suggested they may try to overturn it.

The fight is playing out ahead of a long Independence Day weekend that will feature gatherings centered on cookouts, fireworks and parades — all of it risking further spread of the virus.