Disability rights groups have filed a lawsuit to block Nassau County’s mask ban, which prohibits people from wearing face coverings in public except for health or religious reasons. The lawsuit claims the ban is unconstitutional and discriminatory against people with disabilities.
The New York Disability Rights Association filed a federal class action lawsuit on Thursday on behalf of people with disabilities, seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to immediately stop enforcement of the county’s mask transparency law. Associated Press.
The Republican-majority Nassau County Council passed the bill on August 5, and it was signed into law on August 14.
“This mask ban poses a direct threat to public health and discriminates against people with disabilities,” Timothy A. Klune, executive director of the disability rights group, said in a statement.
Nassau County bans wearing masks in public to curb violent crime and protests
Disability rights groups have filed a lawsuit to block a mask ban in Nassau County, New York, that would prohibit people from covering their faces in public except for health and religious reasons. (Getty Images)
The lawsuit names two plaintiffs who have various health conditions and wear medical masks for protection, but say they fear harassment and possible arrest because of the new mask ban.
“Since August 5, 2024, while in public or private places, strangers have approached GB and asked him if he was sick, if he was well and why he was wearing a mask,” the lawsuit said, listing the initials of one of the plaintiffs.
According to the lawsuit, GB has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and asthma and requires a wheelchair to get around.
“GB is concerned that because there is no standard by which police can determine whether a health exception applies, he will be arrested simply for wearing a mask for health reasons,” the lawsuit states. “GB is also concerned that he will be subject to harassment, discrimination and even assault by people, including Nassau County business owners and employees, simply for wearing a mask and going about his daily life.”
Nassau County Mayor Bruce Blakeman, a Republican who signed the bill into law, said county officials are “confident that this law will be upheld because there is a presumption of constitutionality when the Legislature acts, and that this law is reasonable and responsible.”
New York County Passes Mask Ban
The Republican-majority Nassau County Council passed the bill on August 5, and it was signed into law on August 14. (Getty Images)
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Rep. Howard Kopel said lawmakers sought to approve the ban in response to “anti-Semitic incidents that are often instigated by people wearing masks” amid anti-Israel protests seen on college campuses in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that began the war in Gaza.
The law makes it a misdemeanor for Nassau County residents to cover their face in public to conceal their identity, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, but makes an exception for people who wear a mask “for health, safety, religious or cultural purposes, or to peacefully celebrate a holiday or similar religious or cultural event where the wearing of a mask or face covering is customary.”
Blakeman said the ban was imposed because protesters were wearing masks, but the new law was also a way to combat everyday crime.
“This is a broad public safety measure,” Governor Blakeman said at a news conference. “We’ve seen people wearing masks to shoplift, to carjack, to rob banks, and we want to stop that behavior.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
