Suburban New York county bans masks that hide identity

(The Center Square) — Lawmakers in a suburban New York county have approved a bill banning masks in public places in response to anti-Israel demonstrations over the war in Gaza.

Backers said the measure, approved Monday by the Republican-controlled Nassau County Legislature, would prevent violent protesters from shielding their identity from law enforcement. Violators would face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine on misdemeanor charges under the proposal.

The Mask Transparency Act, which Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is expected to sign, includes exemptions for people who cover their faces for health, religious or cultural reasons.

"Unless someone has a medical condition or a religious imperative, people should not be allowed to cover their face in a manner that hides their identity when in public," Blakeman said in a statement.

Republicans who proposed the legislation said it was in response to often violent pro-Palestinian demonstrations in New York and elsewhere targeting the Israeli government in which protesters hid their identities with scarves and face coverings.

“This legislation was written for one single purpose: to keep our residents safe," the bill's primary sponsor, Mazi Melesa Pilip, a Republican and former Israeli paratrooper, said in remarks during Monday's hearing.

Members of the Legislature's Democratic minority, who voted against the bill, filed "emergency" legislation on Monday that would have stiffened penalties for criminals who use face coverings during crimes. But GOP lawmakers objected to the proposal.

"Our bill respects individual freedoms by not imposing blanket prohibitions on wearing masks in public," Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whiton said in remarks. "Law-abiding citizens could wear masks for health, safety, religious, or celebratory purposes without fear."

To be sure, the Republican-led measure is expected to face legal challenges from civil liberty groups, who argue that it violates First Amendment rights and endangers demonstrators. That would likely come after Blakeman signs the bill into law.

The New York chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union blasted lawmakers for approving the legislation, calling it "a dangerous misuse of the law to score political points and target protestors."

"Masks protect people who express political opinions that are unpopular," Susan Gottehrer, the ACLU's Nassau County director, said in a statement. "Making anonymous protest illegal chills political action and is ripe for selective enforcement, leading to doxxing, surveillance, and retaliation against protesters."

In 2020, New York state repealed an 1845 ban on wearing masks in public places in response to the COVID-19 pandemic when state leaders and public health officials urged people to cover their faces to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Republican lawmakers voted against the repeal, citing opposition to masking mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about public safety.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently said she is considering a partial mask ban on subways in response to recent antisemitic incidents and protests by face-covered demonstrators.

The head of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, has also called for demonstrators to take off their masks during protests and for some coverings to be outlawed entirely.