Senate Passes Potential Ban On Masks In North Carolina

CHARLOTTE- North Carolina republicans are pushing house bill 237 which could ban most public mask wearing.

According to the Associated Press, the legislation cleared the senate on Wednesday in a 30-15 vote to remove section 6 of the bill that allowed people to wear masks for the health and safety of themselves and others. Mecklenburg County Senator Natasha Marcus spoke with WCCB’s Emma Mondo about her concerns.

“This bill that talks about anyone wearing a mask for the purpose of not to conceal our identity, not to do something criminal, but just to protect their health and safety is is outrageous,” she said. “We are just shocked that they would go this far. That’s how extreme they have become.”

If the bill becomes law, it will increase the punishment if the defendant was wearing a mask to hide their identity.

Wilson County Republican Senator Buck Newton presented the bill to the senate floor on Wednesday. He said in part “it’s about time that the craziness is at least slowed down, if not put to a stop.”

The law originally passed in 1953 to limit the Ku Klux Klan covering there faces during marches.

“So we agree with the reasons for banning that and now not allowing that, said Senator Marcus. “But this is so very different. And to criminalize people who just want to be careful about their health and safety is just not okay.”

The bill also makes it a crime to block roads for a protest, which has occurred during pro-Palestinian protests in Raleigh and Durham.