North Carolina Lawmakers Revise Anti-Crime Mask Bill to Add Health Exception

People wearing face masks walk along a street in Brooklyn, New York City, on October 7, 2020. (Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times)

North Carolina lawmakers have revised a bill that increases penalties for criminals who wear masks while committing a crime, clarifying that those who wear masks for health reasons will not be punished.

The first version of House Bill 237, titled “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals,” removed the COVID-19-era exemption from a previous mask law that allowed people to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the updated bill, titled “Various Criminal and Election Law Changes,” language was added to allow people to wear “medical or surgical grade masks for the purpose of preventing the spread of contagious disease,” and also gives law enforcement the right to request that individuals remove their masks temporarily for identification.

The bill passed in a 69–43 vote and heads to the desk of Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.

The original bill was controversial and its Republican sponsors drew the ire of those who support the continued use of face masks for health reasons.

Jerome Adams, the U.S. surgeon general during the Trump administration, issued a statement on the social media platform X in May, expressing “deep concern about North Carolina’s potential total ban on mask-wearing.”

“It’s disturbing to think immunocompromised and cancer patients could be deemed criminals for following medical advice aimed at safeguarding their health,” he said.

In a previous interview, Sen. Buck Newton (R-N.C.) told The Epoch Times that the bill’s intent wasn’t to prohibit people from wearing masks if they choose to.

Instead, it was in response to growing concerns from law enforcement and businesses over criminal activity.

“More and more people are using masks and other clothing to disguise themselves when engaging in criminal behavior,” Mr. Newton said. “It seems logical to increase penalties for those who do so.”

The original intent of the law before the COVID-19 pandemic was to make it harder for organizations, such as the Ku Klux Klan, to intimidate people and engage in criminal acts.

The exemption that was crossed out and has become the subject of controversy allowed for “any person wearing a mask for the purpose of ensuring the physical health or safety of the wearer or others.”

The new bill targets those who are trying to hide their identity, Mr. Newton said, adding that people who choose to wear a mask for health reasons or because it’s a part of their job are free to continue to do so.

Other exceptions include performing arts, Halloween, and Mardi Gras masks worn during holidays and for other special occasions, he said.

“They’re not hiding their identity just because the wearing of a mask might obscure their identity, so that’s OK,” he said. “And that’s what the law has been since the 1950s. All we’ve done is eliminate the 2020 exception that was created in 2020 and go back to where we’ve been from the 1950s to 2020.”

Kerwein Pittman, a policy advisor with the progressive organization Emancipate NC called the original bill racist because it will “disproportionally affect people of color.”

“With this bill passed, law enforcement will begin to stop black and brown people in their communities who may be wearing masks for health concerns or safety concerns,” Mr. Pittman said.