ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A proposal introduced Thursday in the New York Assembly could make it a crime for people to commit harassment or intimidation while wearing a face mask.
The bill creates a crime of “mask harassment” under the state’s existing harassment law and includes several exemptions for people who wear masks for medical reasons or during cold weather.
Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said his intent was not to try to establish a broad ban on face coverings, but to encourage law enforcement to go after people who threaten or intimidate masks. The goal is to create enabling laws. .
His bill states that “for the predominant purpose of violence or intimidation against another person, or for the predominant purpose of placing another person or group of persons in reasonable fear for their physical safety; It would make it a misdemeanor for a person to wear a mask.
Skoufis called the proposal to target peaceful protesters, who often wear masks or other face coverings to hide their identities to avoid legal, personal, or professional repercussions. He said he did not want to use it.
But Allie Baum, senior policy adviser at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the proposal’s language is too vague and could lead to selective enforcement against people expressing their free speech rights.
“We’re going to go into a lot of her lines of trying to intuit people’s intentions,” Boehm said. “People have a right to protest. That’s true whether we agree with their message or not.”
It’s not clear how the bill will fare in the state Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats. The offices of Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly did not immediately return emails seeking comment on the proposal.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, floated a potential mask ban on New York City subways last year over concerns that people were protecting their identities while committing anti-Semitic acts. At the time, the idea drew strong pushback from civil liberties groups and others who pointed out that masks were common on subways due to concerns about poor air quality and covid-19.
Hochul said this month that she was still open to considering the law.
New York has a law banning face masks in public that was passed in response to anti-rental protests in the 1800s, leading to criticism that it was selectively enforced during various protests after it was enacted. I did. That law was suspended during the coronavirus pandemic when face masks were mandated to stop the spread of the virus.
Last year, the conservative suburban county on Long Island banned public transportation, except for medical or religious purposes, in response to what it called anti-Semitic incidents since Oct. 7 during the Israeli-Hamas war. passed a law banning public masks. Palestinian protesters wearing keffiyeh scarves were accused of violating the law shortly after it was passed.
After the war between Hamas and Israel began in October, there were hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in New York. Although the demonstrations have been overwhelmingly peaceful, mask-wearing is very common among participants wary of police surveillance and other repercussions.
