The Republican-controlled county on Long Island, New York, passed a bill Monday that makes it a misdemeanor for individuals 16 and up to wear face masks in public spaces.
The law also allows private businesses to ban people from wearing masks in their establishments. The “Mask Transparency Act” passed the Nassau County Legislature, with 12 Republicans voting in favor and all seven Democrats abstaining, according to Daily Voice.
Violators could potentially be subject to a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, although the bill does provide exceptions for religious or health reasons. The validity of these exceptions will be determined by police, Daily Voice reported.
It’s official: Mask ban in Nassau County, New York passes along party lines, 12-0 (7 abstentions). It makes wearing a mask a misdemeanor (with unclear health and religious exceptions) and gives police the power to fine people wearing a mask $1,000 and sentence them to jail time. pic.twitter.com/wgcXQhCC1u
— Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran) August 5, 2024
The bill states the Legislature found “masks and facial coverings” not worn for health or religious reasons are “often used as a predicate to harassing, menacing or criminal behavior.”
Republican Legislator Mazi Pilip sponsored the bill, stating its objective was to prevent criminals in violent protests from shielding their identity. (RELATED: NYC Mayor Eric Adams Calls For Shoppers To Stop Wearing Masks)
The Caller reached out to Pilip’s office for comment but have not heard back by the time of publication.
“Having them covering their faces, thinking they can do whatever they want, this is absolutely unacceptable,” Pilip told NBC News in July.
Video shows police dragging masked protesters out of the county Legislature, with at least one activist reportedly being arrested.
BREAKING: Nassau County, NY passes bill BANNING face masks in public
Mask activists had to be dragged out pic.twitter.com/PmuIxhEL23
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 6, 2024
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) criticized the ban in a statement on Twitter, condemning it as a “dangerous misuse of the law” that “chills political action.”
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.
Our statement: pic.twitter.com/iTPUwLi8zj
— NYCLU (@NYCLU) August 6, 2024
The group claimed mask bans have been used against pro-Palestine protesters.
Earlier in June, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was considering a face mask ban in the New York City subway system over “antisemitic acts,” The Associated Press (AP) reported. (RELATED: Mask Mandates Could Be Coming Back To New York, But Not The Kind You Think)
Prosecutors charged a man in New York City with attempted coercion after he allegedly ordered “Zionists” to identify themselves on a subway train during a demonstration over Israel and Palestine, NBC New York reported.
‘Raise your hand if you’re a Zionist:’ After protesting outside the Nova Museum, which exclusively displays the atrocities committed at the music festival on October 7th, keffiyeh-clad mobs board the NYC subway, demanding that ‘Zionists’ identify themselves and warning riders… pic.twitter.com/fF1Y3Xem9P
— The Israel Files (@theisraelfiles) June 11, 2024
Activists protested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, D.C. in July by burning the American flag and replacing it with a Palestinian flag.
BREAKING: Anti-Israel protesters BURN American flag in the middle of a crowd, chant “BURN THAT SH*T!” pic.twitter.com/IUxP8QGuhh
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 24, 2024
Ohio’s attorney general sent a letter in May advising presidents of the state’s 34 public, four-year universities that a law previously used to target the Klu Klux Klan demonstrations could be used to charge students with a felony for wearing face coverings during Pro-Palestine protests, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated of the letter that while masks “can be abused,” it “does not justify taking that freedom away from those protesting peacefully, especially in today’s surveillance environment.”