Mask ban awaits Long Island county executive’s signature

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — On Aug. 5, the Nassau County Legislature passed a mask ban . If signed by controversial County Executive Bruce Blakeman, it would criminalize wearing anything on your face in public, representing a tradeoff some Long Island Republicans deem necessary to combat hate speech.

Although he hasn’t signed the apparently partisan bill — passed along strict party lines and included in full at the end of this story — he has signaled his likely position. According to a tweet from Blakeman , the “Democrat(ic) Party is a hotbed for Jew hate, pro-criminal policies, and anti-Americanism!”

The Mask Transparency Act criminalizes intentionally concealing one’s identity, face, or voice except for religious purposes, a peaceful celebration or a holiday that traditionally includes masks, or to protect the wearer’s health or safety. It posits that “masks and facial coverings that are not worn for health and safety concerns or for religious or celebratory purposes are often used as a predicate to harassing, menacing, or criminal behavior.”

The act creates a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or up to a year in prison. Congregating in public while masked constitutes a violation of the measure, as does intimidating, threatening, abusing, harassing, injuring or intimidating someone while masked.

Susan Gottehrer, the Nassau County regional director of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), said the ban abuses the law to score political points and target marginalized people.

“Masks protect people who express political opinions that are unpopular,” she said. “Banning face masks also puts Nassau County residents’ health at risk. With COVID-19 on the rise across Long Island, face coverings are critical to protecting the health of an individual, their family, and their community. Criminalizing masks forces those with disabilities or medical conditions, as well as their families and loved ones, to have to decide whether to segregate themselves from public life or endanger their health and even lives.”

“Police should respond to a person’s actions, not their attire,” Gottehrer said.

The act lets law enforcement determine the intent of a person wearing a mask. Although it features exemptions for religious or health reasons, opponents of the bill maintain that local police should not decide the religious intent or health concerns of community members.

Instead, they said it would outlaw peaceful protest, and increase doxing and surveillance of innocent people. And according to Afaf Nasher, executive director of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, “Doxing has posed a far greater threat to people’s safety than the actions of the masses of overwhelmingly peaceful protesters.”

Aside from privacy concerns and violations of free speech, Disability Rights New York underlined the public health issue. “This law violates Federal and State anti-discrimination laws that were hard-won after decades of activism by people with disabilities,” said Executive Director Timothy Clune. “Nassau County’s mask ban puts lives at risk. While worrying about their health and the well-being of their family members, those who need to wear a mask will have the added fear of discrimination, arrest, fines, and detainment.”

The Nassau legislation requires everyone, regardless of exemption status, to remove their mask at a police officer’s discretion, possibly exposing them to COVID . But people wear masks to protect more than just themselves.

“Whether it’s to avoid missing work, infecting their households, or to reduce the 10 to 20% chance of developing Long COVID with each infection, a health exemption cannot work when everyone needs to mask,” read a statement from Russ Agdern, a representative from a group called Jews for Mask Rights. The group previously wrote a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul condemning banning masks and has asked for evidence of a positive link between mask bans and crime rates.

“Stigmatizing masks increases harassment and discrimination against disabled, chronically ill, and COVID-conscious individuals,” according to Jews for Mask Rights. “Jews will face a compounded threat of increased spread, antisemitism, and anti-mask attacks if these bans are enacted.”

Check out the measure below:

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