Washington: A bill to ban the wearing of masks has been approved in New York.
Nassau County passes bill banning masks aimed at identifying protesters against US support for Israel’s war.
The county says the bill would apply to all types of public protests, and would help identify protesters involved in alleged violence and anti-Americanism during protests.
Civil rights advocates have decried the measure as a violation of free speech, with all 12 Republicans in the Nassau County Legislature voting in favor of the bill while 7 Democrats abstained.
Under the bill, covering one’s face to conceal one’s identity in public is a felony punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
The county says health or medical reasons, as well as religious and cultural purposes, are exempt from the bill.
The New York Civil Liberties Union says the bill is an attack on free speech.
