Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are pushing forward with their plan to repeal a pandemic-era law that allowed the wearing of masks in public for health reasons, a move spurred in part by demonstrations against the war in Gaza that have included masked protesters camped out on college campuses
Isn’t it already illegal to cover your face from above the nose downward in NC? I went there on a business trip a couple years before COVID, and wore a respirator while outside. A cop stopped me and told me that it’s against statute to cover my face in public places. I explained to him that I’m not from there and pollen in that state, at least in Charlotte, was horrific. He was understanding, but highly recommend I find another way. I thanked him and we parted ways. I was leaving the next day, so I didn’t find another way.
This article makes it sound that they’re not going to make it illegal, since it already is, but are, instead, going to make it a higher crime if you commit one while wearing a mask. What I’m gathering, is basically “wear one if you want. But if you commit a misdemeanor while wearing one, it’ll be a felony” (or however the scales increase). Did I misunderstand?
You did find another way - you left.
That’s fair. I also haven’t been back, but not because of him haha
Yeah Lemmy is just really left and uninformed, mask prohibitions have existed in almost every state way before covid (talking 17-1800s) for exactly this reason. And frankly, even in NYC, outside of say health settings, the only people I see wearing masks are those who are actively trying to not be identified, and sometimes it nothing like yourself but more than likely theres a reason they don’t want to be identified and its rarely good.
That may be the law, but the law is bullshit. Why should I be required to show the world my face when I go outside? Why aren’t I entitled to privacy?
Source in on this, or are you scared of people in hoodies too?
I’m fairly certain that the source for this is bank robbers of yore. But this goes under “we do this, because we’ve always done it that way”, and it’s the absolute worst reason to keep doing something. I, for one, enjoyed and supported my right to wear masks for the sole reason that it hid a good part of my face. Didn’t do much for facial recog, as we saw, but humans have a hard time identifying and remembering faces without seeing a mouth. I knew the masks weren’t real respirators and weren’t nearly as effective as they could have been (the reason I wore an actual respirator pre COVID and during), but I very much enjoyed the added privacy for everyone nonetheless.
Actually, Anti Klan legislation.
In NC? I know some places have had this law (maybe it was town-specific) since western times.
The repeal would return public masking rules to their pre-pandemic form — created in 1953 to address a different issue: limiting Ku Klux Klan activity in North Carolina, according to a 2012 book by Washington University in St. Louis sociology professor David Cunningham.
Neat! Thanks for the info. I should have learned more about that state while working at the previous employer, but oh well. It didn’t really seem pertinent then. I guess it’s never too late.
Removed by mod
I wear a respirator every time I leave the house. If COVID taught us anything, it is that people are more disgusting and less considerate than we had imagined. Meanwhile, COVID is still a thing, long COVID is still a thing, and it’s progressive - every time you catch COVID the rates and the damage are worse.
Number 1, i don’t want to have my face scanned by the bazillion different cameras all over the place.
Number 2, these people are citing campus protests as the reason why masks should be MORE illegal. They want to identify legal protesters for what reason? Seems fishy
1: the reason I supported them before COVID, during, and now, and the reason I support their legalization.
But…
2: COVID has trained facial recog algorithms to identify masked faces. Those algorithms still have a hard time with identify altering makeup, but don’t seem to have any issues with masks. True privacy no longer exists. Freedom to protest in most countries is restricted to public spaces. When you privatize everything (including education), public spaces diminish, and your right to protest with it.
Oh look… a bootlicker.
I wore a mask to the store last weekend because I had to get something for my mom and had a pretty nasty sinus infection and didn’t want other people to catch my cold. If I have to be in a crowded place I also wear a mask because other people aren’t as considerate.