The Republican-controlled Nassau County Legislature on Long Island passed the Mask Transparency Act earlier this month, and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman then signed it into law. Seven Democrats abstained from voting in favor of the prohibition, while all twelve Republicans in the assembly supported it. The new measure was justified by the parliamentarians’ objections against the Israel-Gaza war.
The prohibition was imposed two months after New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared that face masks for subway passengers in her city would be prohibited. Hochul said she was investigating the mask ban at a June press conference, citing incidents in which “a group donning masks took over a subway car, scaring riders and chanting things about Hitler and wiping out Jews.”
“We will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade [responsibility] for criminal or threatening behavior,” Hochul said during the news conference. Reaction to the new law has already begun. In a press release, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) denounced the prohibition in Nassau County, claiming that it prioritizes “a culture war over protecting the rights and well-being of [Blakeman’s] own residents.”
Susan Gottehrer, the NYCLU’s Nassau County Regional Director, stated, “Officers should be supporting New Yorkers’ right to voice their views, not fueling widespread doxxing and threatening arrests.” “Masks also enable people with elevated risk to participate in public life and protect people’s health, particularly in light of rising COVID rates.” The measure “may lead to anti-Asian hate and discrimination,” according to a statement made by New York state senator Iwen Chu on X last week, since wearing masks is “common practice in many Asian cultures.”
Those who wear masks for “peaceful celebration,” religious reasons, or reasons of health and safety are excluded from the law. Although the COVID-19 epidemic made wearing masks in public to prevent infection more common, Hochul is not the only prominent figure to advocate for possible mask bans or more severe punishments for mask-wearing protesters.
In order to stop the transmission of infectious diseases, North Carolina approved a mask limitation in June. However, in order to confirm an individual’s identification, law enforcement and property owners may request that persons take off their medical or surgical-grade masks in public. The law also toughens penalties for offenses committed while donning a mask.
In the United States, mask bans have a long history, dating back to the 1940s and 1950s when Ku Klux Klan members covered their faces to conceal their identities. Although rules prohibiting the wearing of masks have been used to arrest protesters in the past, state officials and university administrations have removed parts of these prohibitions in an effort to discourage protesters from donning masks as the Israel-Gaza conflict protests have grown more intense this year.
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