A suburb in New York state passed a law earlier this week banning the wearing of masks and face coverings in public.
On Monday, Nassau County lawmakers passed the Mask Transparency Act, which prohibits the wearing of masks or other face coverings in public, with exceptions for medical, religious or cultural reasons. The bill passed along party lines, with 12 Republican members of the county legislature voting for the bill and seven Democrats abstaining.
Violations may result in a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment of up to one year.
The bill is expected to be signed into law by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. After the vote, he stated, “Unless someone has a medical condition or it is a religious obligation, people should not be allowed to cover their faces in public in a way that conceals their identity.”
Law aims to prevent anti-Semitic attacks
Nassau County lawmakers said the measure was drafted to prevent criminal behavior and violence associated with public protests, particularly anti-Semitic attacks associated with pro-Palestinian protests that have emerged in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The adoption of the measure was tricky; a demonstrator had to be escorted out of the public hearing by police on Monday.
The New York Civil Liberties Union also condemned the law, calling it “a dangerous abuse of the law to score political points and crack down on protesters.”
“Masks protect people who express unpopular political opinions,” Susan Gottehrer, regional director of the NYCLU Nassau County, said in a statement. “Declaring anonymous protests illegal stifles political action and is vulnerable to selective enforcement, leading to doxxing, surveillance and retaliation against protesters.”
Increasing trend towards rigorous measures against mask requirement
Nassau County’s law is part of a growing trend of tougher measures against the wearing of face coverings and masks in public amid ongoing public protests across the country and fears of criminal activity.
In recent months, both New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have threatened similar measures in response to anti-Semitic incidents on the New York City subway.
In North Carolina, the state legislature overrode a veto by Governor Roy Cooper and enacted a law that allows the wearing of masks in public only for health reasons.
During student protests in Florida, Ohio and Texas earlier this year, lawyers also threatened to sue people based on the rarely enforced mask requirement.
Max Hauptman is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
