A Long Island county legislature has passed a bill proposed by an Israeli-American legislator that will outlaw masks at protests.
The bill is part of a wider push across the state to ban face coverings at protests, an effort that has gained momentum following widespread anti-Israel demonstrations and a statewide spike in antisemitism.
The Nassau County Legislature passed the measure on Monday as New York State officials work toward similar measures, an effort that has drawn pushback from civil rights groups and pro-Palestinian activists. New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul have also voiced support for the idea.
The bill was proposed by Mazi Pililp, an Israeli-American Republican and an outspoken advocate for Israel and against antisemitism. Pilip, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress earlier this year, said she was motivated by antisemitism and protests at New York universities.
“Hate incidents in New York State skyrocketed and Jewish people all over New York State were subject to physical and verbal assault,” Pilip said at the legislative committee meeting on Monday. “Many times the attackers were cowards hiding their faces behind masks.”
The legislation, called the “Mask Transparency Act,” says it aims to prohibit the “wearing of masks or facial coverings for the purposes of concealing an individual’s identity in public places.”
Masks are “often used as a predicate to harassing, menacing or criminal behavior,” the legislation says.
The measure will outlaw masks worn by people who “congregate” in public places, though it does not define how large those groups must be. Individuals in masks will not be prosecuted unless they are engaging in intimidating, threatening or harassing behavior or otherwise breaking the law. The law will make the offense a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in prison.
The law will not apply to masks worn for health or safety reasons, for religious or cultural purposes, or for peaceful celebrations where masks are traditionally worn.
The bill passed along party lines, with the legislature’s 12 Republicans voting in favor, and its seven Democrats abstaining.
The legislation will take effect immediately after Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, signs it into law. He has supported the bill.
The committee meeting saw members of the public speak out against the measure, calling it a threat to the immunocompromised and a civil rights violation. The meeting devolved into shouting at certain points, with administrators threatening to clear the room if order was not restored.
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The Nassau County branch of the New York Civil Liberties Union said the bill was “a dangerous misuse of the law to score political points and target protesters.”
“Masks protect people who express political opinions that are unpopular. Making anonymous protest illegal chills political action and is ripe for selective enforcement, leading to doxxing, surveillance, and retaliation against protesters,” Susan Gottehrer, the Nassau County regional director of the NYCLU, said in a statement.
Jewish and Black advocacy organizations announced a joint effort to push for similar legislation at the state level in June, linking contemporary antisemitism by masked attackers to past actions by hooded members of the Ku Klux Klan.
The effort comes as antisemitism has surged in New York City and as pro-Palestinian street protests, often comprised of demonstrators wearing masks, have roiled the city and its Jewish community. Law enforcement has said masking among demonstrators has hindered prosecution of crimes linked to demonstrations — such as the occupation of a Columbia University building earlier this year.
Pro-Palestinian and leftist groups have pushed back against the anti-masking effort, calling it an infringement on the right to free assembly as well as a risk to the immunocompromised. The progressive advocacy group Jews for Economic and Racial Justice backed an effort called Jews for Mask Rights to oppose the legislation.
New York State had an anti-masking law in place dating back to the 1800s, but scrapped the bill in 2020 as masking became widespread to help stem the spread of COVID-19.
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