New York Black-Jewish coalition launches ad blitz in support of anti-masking legislation

UnMaskHateNY, a coalition of Black and Jewish advocacy groups, announces a six-figure advertisement campaign in support of New York State legislation that would add penalties to crimes committed by masked offenders.

The ad aims to push back against “misinformation” surrounding the legislation. Critics of the legislation have called it a “mask ban,” but the bill would only stiffen penalties for crimes committed while wearing a mask.

“With all the confusion in the debate about regulating the conduct of people wearing masks, we thought it would be helpful to set the record straight,” the ad says. “People can wear masks to their heart’s content, but they can’t wear masks and engage in intimidating, harassing or threatening activity.”

The campaign, called “Fine, not fine,” shows images of masking that is allowed, such as masks for sports, medical purposes, or religion, and face coverings that are “not fine,” such as for concealment during violent protests and vandalism.

“The text only prohibits the wearing of a mask in situations in which they’re used to hide the identity of a person engaging in intimidating, threatening or harassing activity. Nothing less, nothing more,” the ad says.

The 30-second ad will be shown this week on cable TV and digital platforms.

The campaign comes as New York Governor Kathy Hochul attempts to pass the legislation with the state budget.

The New York branch of the American Civil Liberties Union put out a statement this month that called the legislation a “mask ban” and claimed it would “open the floodgates to disproportionate enforcement.”

The legislation is not actually a ban, however. The text of the bill aims to establish the offense of “masked harassment,” which would stiffen penalties for crimes committed while covering the face “for the primary purpose of menacing or threatening violence” or “placing another person or group of persons in reasonable fear for their physical safety.”

Masked harassment would function similar to hate crimes legislation, which increases penalties for crimes that are motivated by discrimination. Masking in the absence of criminal activity would not be affected.

UnMaskHateNY launched last summer and is a collaborative effort between Black and Jewish groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the National Urban League. Jewish groups support the legislation as a way to push back against harassment by masked anti-Israel activists, and Black groups say similar legislation has long been used against hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.

New York had anti-masking legislation for more than 100 years until it was repealed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.