Suburban NY county bans masking to hide identity, citing antisemitism since Oct. 7

MINEOLA, New York — Lawmakers in a suburban New York county have approved a bill to ban masks in public places with exemptions for people who cover their faces for health reasons or religious or cultural purposes.

Supporters say the bill approved by the Republican-controlled Nassau County Legislature on Long Island would prevent violent protesters from hiding their identity.

Legislator Howard Kopel says the measure was introduced in response to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks” since Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel that started the ongoing war in Gaza.

All 12 Republicans in the legislature voted in favor of the measure, while the body’s seven Democrats abstained.

The county lawmakers acted after New York’s Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, said in June that she was considering a ban on face masks in the New York City subway system. No specific plan has been announced to enact such a ban, which like the Nassau measure was floated in response to the rise in mask-wearing protesters.