MINEOLA, NY — Lawmakers in a New York City suburb have approved a bill that would ban face masks in public places, with exceptions for people who cover their faces for health, religious or cultural reasons.
Supporters said the bill, passed Monday by the Republican-controlled Nassau County Legislature on Long Island, would ensure that violent protesters can no longer hide their identities.
Lawmaker Howard Kopel said the measure was introduced in response to “anti-Semitic incidents, often committed by people wearing masks” since the start of the latest war between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7.
All 12 Republicans in the legislature voted in favor of the measure, while seven Democrats abstained.
County lawmakers took action after New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said in June that she is considering a ban on face masks in the New York City subway system. No specific plan has been announced to implement such a ban, which, like the measure in Nassau, was launched in response to a surge in mask-wearing protesters.
The New York Civil Liberties Union criticized Nassau’s mask ban, calling it an infringement on the right to free speech.
“Masks protect people who express political views that are unpopular,” Susan Gottehrer, the group’s Nassau County regional director, said in a statement. “Making anonymous protest illegal freezes political action and is ripe for selective enforcement, leading to doxxing, surveillance and retaliation against protesters.”
Nassau’s bill makes wearing a face covering to conceal your identity in public a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The measure exempts people who wear masks for health, safety, “religious or cultural purposes, or for the peaceful celebration of a holiday or similar religious or cultural event where masks or face coverings are customarily worn.”
Bruce Blakeman, a Republican member of Nassau County, is expected to sign the bill.
“Unless someone has a medical condition or a religious urge, people should not be allowed to cover their face in a way that hides their identity in public,” he said in a statement after the legislature’s vote.
Newsday reports that dozens of speakers for and against the bill filled the legislative chambers.
Supporters said the bill would prevent protesters who commit acts of intimidation or violence from evading accountability. Opponents, however, said it would infringe on disability health privacy laws and would likely not be enforced fairly across communities.
Democratic lawmaker Arnold Drucker said before the vote that the bill “overstepped the bounds of the First Amendment and could be harmful.”
