North Carolina could ban face masks for medical reasons in public

The North Carolina Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution along party lines that bans people from wearing masks in public, even for health reasons.

Republican supporters of the ban argued it would help law enforcement crack down on demonstrators wearing masks. As pro-Palestinian protests spread across the country and at universities in North Carolina, protesters say they are exploiting COVID-19 pandemic-era practices to hide their identities. they claim.

The bill would go further and eliminate exceptions that have been in state law since the early stages of the pandemic, allowing people to wear masks in public for health and safety reasons.

30 senators voted in favor House Bill 23715 people opposed and 5 were absent.

Democrats expressed concerns about the bill, especially for people with weakened immune systems or those who want to continue wearing masks during cancer treatment. WRAL News reported.

State Sen. Sidney Batch (D), a cancer survivor, shared with her fellow senators that her family wore masks to protect her and her weakened immune system during treatment.

She and other Democratic lawmakers proposed ways to amend the bill to allow police to crack down on protesters while continuing legal protections for health concerns, the outlet reported.

Republican Sen. Buck Newton dismissed the concerns, saying no one saw “grandma getting arrested at a Walmart pre-coronavirus” and that law enforcement would follow “common sense” when enforcing the law. He said he was thinking about it. Associated Press (Associated Press) reported.

The Associated Press noted that the state’s general masking laws date back to the 1950s, when the state passed a public masking ban aimed at curbing Ku Klux Klan membership.

under the billIf a masked protester is arrested, his or her crime will be classified as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

It now heads to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk. Mr. Cooper, a Democrat, could veto the bill, but North Carolina Republicans hold a supermajority that could override an expected veto.