New York county executive signs mask ban into law

(The Center Square) — A New York county has banned masks in public places in response to anti-Israel demonstrations over the war in Gaza, despite threats of a legal challenge from critics who say it's unconstitutional.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, signed the Mask Transparency Act on Wednesday. The law, which goes into effect immediately, makes it illegal to wear a mask or face covering "for the purposes of concealing an individual's identity in public places." The law exempts people who cover their faces for health, religious or cultural reasons. Violators of the misdemeanor face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Republican county lawmakers who approved 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. Blakeman said the measure is also aimed at preventing crimes.

"This is a broad public safety measure," he told reporters at Wednesday's bill signing. "What we've seen is people using masks to shoplift, to carjack, to rob banks, and this is activity that we want to stop."

The measure is expected to face a legal challenge from civil liberties groups and other critics who say the move is unconstitutional and won't improve public safety.

"Masks protect people who express political opinions that are controversial," Susan Gottehrer, the American Civil Liberties Union's Nassau County regional director, said in a statement. "Officials should be supporting New Yorkers’ right to voice their views and protect their health, not fueling widespread doxxing and threatening arrests."

"We are giving Nassau County an opportunity to reverse its course here to avoid any unnecessary legal actions," Timothy Clune, executive director of Disability Rights New York, said in a statement. "There are plenty of laws on the books that address criminal behavior. What’s next – banning sunglasses and hats?"

The group Nassau Residents for Good Government, also predicted the law would be challenged in court and accused Blakeman and county lawmakers of approving the ban "purely to score political points."

"Politicians get to announce that they are fighting antisemitism, while peddling sham legislation that won’t actually fight antisemitism," the group said in a statement. "The only result will be Nassau residents’ tax dollars being used to pay politically-connected law firms tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in an ultimately-losing fight to defend this badly written legislation."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have expressed support for a partial mask ban on subways in response to recent antisemitic incidents and protests by face-covered demonstrators, but neither Democrat has filed legislation.

Blakeman said the masking ban has "bipartisan support" and brushed aside threats of litigation from civil liberties and disability advocates to block the law from going into effect.

"This is not an abridgment of anybody’s rights," he said at Wednesday's bill signing. "Nobody has a constitutional right to hide their identity in public."