The North Carolina Senate on Wednesday night approved an amended version of House Bill 237, which bans the wearing of masks in public.
The controversial bill would also increase criminal penalties for those who commit crimes while wearing masks in public, and protests have erupted on university campuses across the country in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. It was submitted as a result.
If passed, the bill would also create a new crime for blocking traffic, a tactic used in some recent protests. The vote was 30-15 along party lines and now goes back to the House of Commons for consent.
Sen. Buck Newton (R-Greene, Wayne, Wilson), who sponsored the bill's Senate “committee representative,” said the bill would reinstate laws that existed before the COVID-19 pandemic. He said it was aimed at
The Senate rejected three amendments to the bill proposed by Wake County Democrats Sen. Sidney Batch, Sen. Lisa Grafstein and Sen. Jay Chaudhry.
The amendment proposed by Bach and Grafstein would restore the medical exemption and allow masks to be worn as long as the wearer is not using the mask for a criminal purpose.
Bach said as someone whose immune system was compromised during treatment, he opposes any regulations that would make it more difficult for people with health concerns to wear masks. “We are now trying to turn back time and ignore the science and allow individuals who want to protect themselves and their loved ones to wear masks,” Bach said.
“We talk a lot about freedom in this chamber, and I hear it all the time. I have freedom, my children have freedom, my husband has been arrested and charged with a first-degree misdemeanor. You should have the freedom to wear a mask to protect your life and protect your life without fear of being prosecuted. That's what this bill will do.”
Newton said: “There appears to be a fundamental misunderstanding of what this bill does and how the law will operate. No wonder so many people are scared.” and questioned the motives of those opposed to the bill.
“I think some of us are wondering what the real motives are of the people on the other side of the house. They’re making people think they have to wear masks,” and they’re going to get arrested. ”
A law dating back to the 1950s, enacted at least in part in response to groups like the Ku Klux Klan, prohibits wearing masks in public in North Carolina, with some exceptions. These exceptions have been expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to include people wearing masks for health reasons. Newton's bill would remove that particular exception.
Newton said the Senate committee's investigation found no documentation of anyone being arrested or charged with wearing a mask solely for health reasons under the previous law.
Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue of Wake County expressed concern that law enforcement could use the law as an excuse to pull over drivers. “If you're wearing a mask and it's against the law to wear a mask, then the officer has good reason to stop you,” Blue said. .
Advocates and groups, including the North Carolina Disability Rights Movement, the North Carolina Liberation Movement, and the North Carolina ACLU, opposed the bill at Tuesday's committee hearing, calling for both the mask ban and provisions targeting protesters. criticized.
“This bill is part of a broader attack on democracy that we are seeing in state legislatures, while lawmakers who support these attacks on the right to protest are working to make it harder to vote and participate in the legislative process. He is also leading the way.” said Elizabeth Barber, policy director for the ACLU of North Carolina.
In a statement released Tuesday, the North Carolina NAACP denounced the bill as a “dangerous bill that threatens the fundamental right to protest in North Carolina.”
“This bill aims to impose harsh penalties on protesters, particularly targeting those who obstruct traffic or wear masks,” the statement said. “By criminalizing these protest tactics, this bill aims to silence marginalized communities and stifle the expression of legitimate dissent.”
The bill now returns to the House of Commons for approval of changes in the Senate.
