Commissioners in Nassau county, New York, voted to ban masks in public, with only vague exceptions for health or religious reasons. County Executive Bruce Blakeman said it was to prevent people from hiding their identity in public, especially during protests: "people should not be allowed to cover their face," he said.
The "Mask Transparency Act" punishes offenders with up to a $1000 fine or a year in jail.
The ACLU issued a statement condemning the ban as "a dangerous misuse of the law to score political points and target protestors" and "ripe for selective enforcement."
"Banning face masks also puts Nassau County residents' health at risk," wrote the civil liberty group's Susan Gottehrer. "With COVID-19 on the rise across Long Island, face coverings are critical to protecting the health of an individual, their family, and their community…The ban's so-called health and religious exceptions are entirely inadequate: Nassau County police officers are not health professionals or religious experts capable of deciding who needs a mask and who doesn't.""
The mask ban passed with 12 Republican votes. Seven Democrats abstained. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, both Dems, support mask bans at protests and on public transportation.
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