This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA.
Last week legislators in Nassau County, New York approved a bill banning masks in public spaces, saying “concealing your identity” by wearing a mask is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to a year of jail time and a $1,000 fine.
Proponents of the Mask Transparency Act in Nassau County, say the ban will combat crime during protests. It was introduced in response to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks,” which really mean anyone that has worn a mask while protesting Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in the last year.
This bill is one of several that are setting a dangerous and authoritarian precedent in the United States aimed at silencing protest inside the United States against Israel’s actions.
While it happened in New York, Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are poised to overturn Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s recent veto of legislation to criminalize masking. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said this month she supports legislative efforts to ban masks on the subway.
In response, many people have criticized the mask bans as an attack against protesters, but also because the bans are being implemented while we still deal with COVID surges in many parts of the country! This politically motivated ban threatens public health especially healthcare workers or immunocompromised people that are at greater risk.
Healthcare workers should unite against these egregious policies that endanger our most vulnerable, could lead to hospital surges and unsafe conditions for medical staff and patients.
Click here to read the article printed in the 08-14-24 Healthcare Newsletter
