Lawmakers reconsider mask bans after spring, campus protests – Washington Examiner
The article discusses how state and local politicians have considered banning face coverings in response to violent protests that took place on college campuses. Lawmakers in cities like Los Angeles and New York are considering these bans to prevent protesters from concealing their identities. Recent incidents at universities, such as Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles, where masked protesters clashed with police, have prompted discussions about banning masks. The article also mentions how Republicans in North Carolina and Philadelphia have already implemented restrictions on wearing masks in public spaces to address similar concerns. Democrats in New York, including Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, are also considering supporting a mask ban following incidents involving anti-war protesters. These discussions about banning masks highlight the ongoing debate surrounding the use of face coverings in public spaces.
Lawmakers reconsider mask bans after spring campus protests
In the wake of the spring’s violent campus protests, state and local politicians from both sides of the aisle have considered cracking down on face coverings, once required in all classrooms.
Officials in Los Angeles and New York have recently floated the idea of banning masks in their cities, attempting to deter violent protesters who, lawmakers say, often wore coverings to conceal their identities. At universities across the nation, masked demonstrators opposed to the Israel-Hamas war chanted and set up tent communities, often leading to violent police confrontations at schools including Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
In June, North Carolina Republicans approved restrictions on wearing masks in public after 30 people from an encampment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were arrested, many of them masked. In January, Philadelphia barred ski masks in public spaces, hoping to curb violent crime.
In New York, Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and Mayor Eric Adams, expressed their support for a mask ban after anti-war protesters piled into a subway car and warned Zionists to exit their seats and return to the station.
“We will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade responsibility for criminal or threatening behavior,” Hochul said during a June press conference.
Shortly after, a clash between protesters and counterprotesters outside a Los Angeles synagogue led Democratic Mayor Karen Bass to consider exploring mask restrictions. She did not propose any specific legislation.
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Many of these advocates for mask restrictions had supported public mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite an uptick in cases this summer, the focus has turned away from viral protection and toward mitigating violence.
Martin Luther King Jr. “did not hide his face when he marched and for the things he thought were wrong in the country,” Adams said, invoking the beloved nonviolent demonstrator. “Those civil rights leaders did not hide their faces. They stood up.”
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