North Carolina lawmakers want to ban people from wearing masks in public. Masks were popular during the pandemic because they were thought to be health benefits.
This bill is being pushed by Republicans, though, because of the people who are breaking the law, striking, and hiding while wearing masks to hide their identities.
One of the main things that lawmakers like about this plan is that it would stop people in masks from camping out on college campuses.
The bill was passed, which would make it harder for people to get away with crimes if they wear masks. This includes arrested protesters. The bill could still be changed, but it has made it this far even though the State Democrats have made changes.
People who are against the bill mostly say that it puts people who are wearing masks for health reasons at risk. People who support the bill, on the other hand, say that this is needed because of protests like the one at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Anyone caught blocking roads or emergency cars during a protest will also be charged with a crime. This has happened at pro-Palestine protests in Raleigh and Durham.
Wilson County Republican Sen. Buck Newton was the first person to introduce the bill. He said, “It’s about time that the craziness is at least slowed down, if not turned off.”
People are mostly against masks because they think they are unsafe and unhealthy. They think that people who need masks for health reasons won’t be able to wear them. In her speech on the Senate floor, Democratic Sen. Natasha Marcus said, “This bill turns careful people into criminals” and “It’s a bad law.”
Three Democrats in the Senate tried to change the rules so that people with health problems would not have to follow them, but they were quickly stopped. There might be more changes made to the bill before it goes into full force.
