A controversial ban on wearing face coverings in public was signed into law in Nassau County, New York, on Wednesday, making it the first such ban in the country.
Nassau County Mayor Bruce Blakeman signed the bill at a press conference Wednesday morning. Nassau County covers part of Long Island just east of New York City.
The ban, with exceptions for health and religious reasons, has been touted as a public safety measure aimed at targeting those who commit crimes by wearing face coverings.
Anyone who violates the law faces a misdemeanor of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Earlier this month, Rep. Howard Kopel said the measure was introduced in response to “anti-Semitic incidents committed by mask wearers” since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
Blakeman on Wednesday called the bill “a bill that protects the people.”
He pointed to anti-Semitic and violent protests earlier this year near Columbia University in Manhattan, where masked people were involved – part of a series of protests on US college campuses to condemn the war between Israel and Hamas and express solidarity with the suffering of the Palestinian people.
The bill goes beyond protecting cultural organizations: Blakeman said it will also curb crime and address criminals who wear face coverings and commit robberies and carjackings.
But opponents of the law argued it poses danger to people who want to peacefully protest while keeping their identities hidden.
The bill has also been criticized by local lawmakers.
The county’s Democratic Minority Leader, Delia DeRiggi Whitton, said in a statement Wednesday that the decision to sign the bill was “nothing more than political theater and a clear waste of taxpayer money.”
“This law is destined to be struck down in court, further tarnishing Blakeman’s already losing legal record,” DeLighi Whitton said. “It is deeply disappointing that Blakeman and his Republican colleagues ignored the opportunity for bipartisan compromise and refused to even consider the Democrats’ bill, which would uphold the rule of law, provide a fairer approach for residents, and impose tougher penalties for actual violators.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union has denounced the mask ban as a violation of free speech rights.
“Masks protect people who express controversial political opinions,” Susan Gottehrer, Nassau County regional director for the New York City Coalition of Labor Unions (NYCLU), said in a statement Wednesday.
“Masks protect people’s health and allow those at higher risk to participate in public life, especially at a time when COVID-19 infection rates are rising. We should support people to make the right choices for themselves and their loved ones and not allow governments to banish vulnerable people from society,” she added.
“Nassau County officials should be defending rights and freedoms, not reaping political gain at the expense of New Yorkers,” she said.
Blakeman, a Republican, emphasized the bill is a bipartisan effort.
“Mayor Eric Adams has been vocal about wanting the New York City Council to pass a similar bill,” he said.
“This is not an infringement of anyone’s rights. No one has a constitutional right to conceal their identity in public,” Blakeman said.
The Associated Press contributed.
