Sweet irony of ironies — and in California, no less!

"There's a customer coming in with a mask," he said, "and I need to tell them they can't come in with one."

That's the new reality at Kitson on Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills, where Ross has banned face masks out of concern for the "safety of our staff & assets of store," according to a sign posted in a front window.

You know crime is out of control if a Beverly Hills boutique is turning its back on the face masks!

The 58-year-old owner, who admits that he uses political social media posts and store displays to stir controversy and publicity, said the mask ban is different.

The move, he insisted, was prompted by employees who are frustrated and fearful of thieves with covered faces targeting the store and others in the neighborhood. The ban applies only to the flagship Robertson location, one of five Kitson outlets, which Ross described as "the big store where all the valuables are."

Look, this isn't that much of an ask.

If someone robs their store, all they want to know is one thing:

They have a shop to run, a business to keep afloat, and employees to pay.

In a state that appears to have no interest stopping violent crime, it's not surprising that they're taking this into their own hands.

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