Nassau County, New York, on Wednesday implemented a controversial ban on wearing face coverings in public, a measure that has been criticized by state politicians and civil rights activists.
The mask transparency law, signed into law by Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman, makes wearing a face covering to conceal one’s identity in public a misdemeanor. Anyone who violates the law can face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine, although there are exceptions for health or religious reasons.
Opponents of the bill have criticized it as a “dangerous misuse of the law to score political points and target protesters” given that it was introduced in response to protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, while a New York senator warned that the bill “could lead to anti-Asian hatred.”
Blakeman recently Post to X “The Democratic Party[ic] “This party is a hotbed of Jew-hatred, pro-criminal politics and anti-Americanism!”, the politician said, according to NBC News. The politician also criticized pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in New York City and argued the ban would reduce crime, but others disagree.
“Nassau County’s mask ban is a dangerous misuse of the law to score political points and target protesters. Prohibiting vocal people from protecting themselves and their identities puts the health and well-being of people with disabilities, people of color, and those who hold unpopular views at risk,” said Susan Gottehrer, Regional Director for the New York Civil Liberties Union of Nassau County (NYCLU). Said after the bill I passed.
“Masks protect people from expressing unpopular political views. Making anonymous protest illegal chills political activity and opens the door to selective enforcement, leading to the denunciation, surveillance and retaliation of protesters.”
“Know your rights” Breaking News “This comes as COVID-19 cases continue to surge,” the NYCLU president said.
He added that the language in the county’s ban “is vague and does not distinguish between medical masks, such as N95, KN95 or surgical masks, and other types of masks or ‘face coverings,’ such as niqabs, burqas, face scarves or bandanas, and costume masks.”
The NYCLU said county police must have “reasonable suspicion” that something is related to a crime before they can stop someone from wearing a mask.
In the new law, the law ““This provision does not apply to face coverings worn to protect the wearer’s health or safety, for religious or cultural purposes, or in the peaceful celebration of a holiday or similar religious or cultural event where the wearing of a mask or face covering is customary.”
But the NYCLU said the rule doesn’t apply to people who wear masks “solely to protect others,” such as when in public near someone who is immunocompromised or to prevent the mask wearer from transmitting a cold or flu to others.
in statementNew York state Senator Iwen Chu said wearing a mask is a “common practice in many Asian cultures” and that some people have adopted it as a “social responsibility to prevent the spread of the health crisis.”
Chu added, “We are concerned about the potential for bias and hate crimes to arise from this new anti-mask law. Such a law could lead to anti-Asian hatred and discrimination against people who need to wear masks for health, cultural or religious reasons.”
The bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Mazie Pilip, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress earlier this year, saying “terror sympathizers across the country, and especially in New York, are hiding behind masks and terrorizing Jewish communities.”
The bill was passed by the Republican-majority Nassau County Council on Aug. 6. Republican Councilman Howard Kopel, who voted in favor of the bill, said the measure was introduced in response to “anti-Semitic incidents that are frequently instigated by people wearing masks” since Israel began its war on Gaza.
In June, New York Governor Kathy Hawkle was reported to be considering banning mask wearing on the New York City subway.
