Lawmakers in New York’s Nassau County enacted the nation’s first ban on wearing face masks in public on Wednesday.
The Mask Transparency Act, which was signed into law by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, makes it illegal for people to wear face masks “for the purposes of concealing an individual’s identity in public places,” WABC-TV in New York City reported. Those who violate the law could face a fine of $1,000, up to a year in jail, or both.
The law was proposed in response to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks” following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, which prompted Israel to launch an ongoing attack on Palestinians in Gaza, ABC News reported.
The ban, which takes effect in the Long Island county immediately, is aimed at those who intend to commit crimes while hiding their face, and Nassau police will make the determination on intent, Blakeman said, according to NBC News.
“We’re not looking to lock up innocent people,” Blakeman said at a news conference. “[Police] can sniff out somebody who’s lying in most circumstances. And this gives them the ability to stop them and ask them, ‘What are you doing?’”
But the ban has drawn criticism from lawmakers and rights groups, such as the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), who worry that the law will result in the persecution of people trying to protect themselves and others against the surge of COVID-19 cases and who see the ban as a means of clamping down on protesters who want to hide their identities.
NYCLU’s Beth Haroules told NBC News that the law targets political protesters who have a right to their anonymity and that the ban will result in selective police enforcement.
“The truth is, a mask ban won’t do anything to stop crime. In reality, it will just push disabled people further into the margins, target protestors with controversial views, and give police new reason to unfairly stop Black, Brown, and Muslim people who are already disparately surveilled and policed,” the NYCLU wrote in a statement.
The law has a few exceptions, stating that it does not apply to “facial coverings” worn for medical or religious reasons. But some say that the exceptions are too vague and raise concerns about who would be in violation of the law for wearing a mask.
“I know that there are some vague exceptions for medical conditions, but I don’t know if I fit under that or not, so I think it would be somewhat better not to have that,” Lisa Dresner, a teacher who wears a mask, told NBC News.
In a post on the X social media site, former New York state Rep. Yuh-Line Niou described the law as “wild and thoughtless.”
“I don’t know what people are thinking…but it isn’t about each other,” she wrote about the ban.
New York state Sen. Iwen Chu posted a statement on X last week saying that the ban could result in a rise of anti-Asian hate since mask wearing is a “common practice in many Asian cultures.”
“I am concerned about the possibility of bias and hate crimes stemming from this new mask prohibition legislation,” she wrote in the statement. “Legislation like this may lead to anti-Asian hate and discrimination towards [those who wear masks] due to health, culture, religious reasons.”
The ban comes months after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would ban masks on subways in order to address issues of people hiding their faces while committing antisemitic hate crimes. North Carolina has passed legislation to restrict the wearing of masks.