New Jersey State Senator Jon Bramnick and Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis have introduced bills S3578 and A4804. Initially, these bills were slated to criminalize masking at public gatherings. They have since been changed to make it a disorderly persons offense for persons to “wear masks with purpose to conceal identity while committing another crime or offense.”

Still, those of us masking for health reasons remain concerned that these “mask ban” bills could still subject us to scrutiny by police and harassment from other members of the public for simply being masked as we go about our daily routines. We also fear that linking masking with criminality may lead to businesses attempting to ban health-conscious New Jerseyans from masking in their establishments and could make it more difficult for people with disabilities to secure disability accommodations involving masking in public settings.

We must stop bills S3578/A4804! If you live in New Jersey, find your State Senator and Assembly Members and tell them to vote “no.” If you do not live in New Jersey, contact Senator Bramnick’s and Assemblywoman Matsikoudis’ offices and explain to them why these bills would make it difficult for you to visit the Garden State.

Those of us wearing masks on a daily basis do it to protect our health and often the health of vulnerable family members and friends. COVID-19 remains a public health threat, with the CDC reporting “high” levels of it in wastewater samples in New Jersey as of 9/12/24. Long COVID is a debilitating threat to everyone that increases with each COVID-19 infection. Masking also helps people avoid other illnesses and conditions like cold, flu, RSV, and seasonal allergies. Our ability to gather safely in public should not be questioned or taken away because of a few bad actors.

A health exemption will not make these bad bills better. Police should not be in the business of determining who is masking for health reasons and they already have the necessary tools and powers to question, detain, and arrest people engaged in truly suspicious behavior and criminal acts. People should not have to carry doctor’s notes or otherwise be asked to explain their medical needs in public spaces. People masking for the safety of others, particularly vulnerable family and friends, should not have to justify their choice to mask or fear that police will not consider it an adequate “medical reason.”

Any restriction on masking will fuel the false narrative that masks are ineffective. Mask bans also create a climate of discrimination and harassment. North Carolina’s mask ban encouraged someone to harass, cough on, and spit on a cancer patient who was masked in public, even though that law contained a “medical exemption.” There is a very real risk that, regardless of the text of the law, anti-masking knuckleheads in New Jersey will use the existence of this proposal as an excuse to harass and intimidate mask wearers. Another concern, as noted by the Star-Ledger Editorial Board, is that “based on past experience, we know [that]: Police will disproportionately stop and question Black and brown people, who have also been the most likely to continue wearing masks to protect against COVID-19.”

These bills are also problematic because they do not protect people masking for health reasons if they are stopped by police. Missing is any assurance that police will not be able to compel someone masking for health reasons to remove their face covering. The bills offer no ability for a civilian to ask an officer questioning them to put on a mask for the civilian’s protection. Even a brief interaction with an unmasked officer in close proximity puts medically vulnerable people at risk, particularly if that officer requires that vulnerable detainee to remove their mask, even for a few moments.

Actual criminals don’t have a reputation for obeying laws. There is no reason to believe a single vandal, robber, burglar, or sexual offender will magically decide not to wear a mask while committing their crime(s) if S3578/A4804 becomes law. Further, studies have shown that sunglasses are better at inhibiting facial recognition than face coverings, making the utility of a masking ban highly questionable from a public safety standpoint.

Again, if you live in New Jersey, find your State Senator and Assembly Members and tell them to vote “no.” If you do not live in New Jersey, contact Senator Bramnick’s and Assemblywoman Matsikoudis’ offices and explain to them why these bills would make it difficult for you to visit the Garden State.