“It’s all about public safety,” said Nassau County legislator Mazi Pilip, the bill’s conservative sponsor. “If people want to rally, that’s great. However, this idea that nobody is going to recognize my face, and I’m going to break the law and hurt people—that’s not going to be acceptable.”
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a suburban New York county’s ban on wearing masks in public places.
According to The Associated Press, the class-action lawsuit was filed last month by Disability Rights New York. It lists two lead plaintiffs, both of whom are Nassau County residents with disabilities.
The Associated Press notes that Nassau County’s “Mask Transparency Act,” or MTA, makes wearing a mask in public a misdemeanor. Violators are subject to penalties ranging up to 1 year in jail or fines of not more than $1,000. The Act provides limited, stating that enforcement shall not apply to “facial coverings worn to protect the health or safety of the wearer, for religious or cultural purposes.”
In their lawsuit, Disability Rights attorneys said that the ban is unconstitutional—and, despite its exceptions, could cause discrimination against people with disabilities. Both of the plaintiffs, for instance, said that they wear masks for medical reasons but are afraid they could still be arrested because of the new rule.
But U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the plaintiffs failed to establish standing to sue. In her ruling, Azrack pointed out that the Mask Transparency Act explicitly carves out an exception for Nassau County residents with disabilities.
“Plaintiffs wear masks to protect themselves from illness,” Azrack wrote. “That is expressly included from the MTA’s reach by its health and safety exception.”
The Washington Post reported last month that the Mask Transparency Act was passed, in part, over concerns that pro-Palestine protesters were using masks to hide “and intimidate the Jewish community.”
“It’s all about public safety,” said Nassau County legislator Mazi Pilip, the bill’s conservative sponsor. “If people want to rally, that’s great. However, this idea that nobody is going to recognize my face, and I’m going to break the law and hurt people—that’s not going to be acceptable.”
The law stoked some concerns shortly after its introduction. Nina Gordon, a 71-year-old woman who is Jewish and has lived in Nassau County for more than 60 years, told the Washington Post that she recognizes antisemitism is a mounting problem—but is enraged by the prospect of a ban that could lead to her, or her husband, being stopped and questioned by law enforcement.
“When I go out in public, I’m masking,” said Gordon, who has an autoimmune disorder. “I don’t want to be stopped and questioned by police. It’s frightening to think we are now suspect for wearing a mask.”
Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County Republican legislator who signed the bill into law this past August, said in a statement he is grateful that “the court dismissed a lawsuit that would have made Nassau County less safe.”
Sources
A New York county banned face masks in public. Disabled people are suing.
Plaintiffs say that the Nassau County prohibition violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Federal lawsuit challenging mask ban in suburban New York county dismissed
