By Brianna Kraemer
Carolina Journal
Senate Republicans supported a bill restricting the wearing of masks in public last week, but their colleagues in the House shut down the bill within minutes during a floor session on Wednesday afternoon.
Rep Erin Paré, R-Wake, asked that the House not concur with the Senate’s changes to House Bill 237, “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals.” She explained that the Senate intends to return to pre-COVID rules, before the specific exemption for medical masking was put in place during the pandemic.
The bill restricts the wearing of face masks in public to hide a criminal’s identity. It passed the Senate along party lines, with opponents arguing that the law could criminalize the simple wearing of masks in public for health reasons. The language seeks to ultimately revoke health and safety exemptions, which spurred bipartisan concern.
“I move that the house do not concur with the Senate changes to House Bill 237,” Paré declared.
After a brief question and one comment, the motion was promptly approved by the majority of the chamber.
“This bill as written infringes on our constitutional first amendment rights and puts at risk the health and safety of our communities. It impedes on the rights of individuals who may mask for health reasons,” said Rep. Sarah Crawford, D-Wake.
Over the weekend, Paré announced that she would not support the Senate’s changes to the bill, mentioning public confusion over the language and the freedom every individual has to wear a mask for their personal health. The announcement prompted other Republicans in the House to voice their concerns with the bill, including Rep. Chris Humphrey, R-Greene.
Legal experts at the John Locke Foundation explained last week that the bill would criminalize the wearing of masks for medical purposes in all the relevant situations. They suspected it was not a problem until COVID-19 made masks relevant again in 2020, when legislators amended the criminal law to provide an exemption for wearing a mask for health reasons.
“While many now doubt the efficacy of wearing masks during Covid, that doesn’t justify making it a criminal offense to wear a mask for medical purposes,” said Jon Guze, Senior Fellow in Legal Studies at Locke. “There may very well be legitimate medical reasons why some people need to wear masks now, and it’s perfectly possible that masks will turn out to be effective against a different kind of epidemic in the future. If the bill becomes law and is enforced against someone wearing a mask for medical purposes, I suspect this provision will be struck down under the Law of the Land Clause of the NC Constitution.”
Masks are now a mere political statement and a signal to which party they are devoted. Still, people should have the freedom to wear one if they want to, despite their brainwashed reasons why. It’s like the left’s version of a MAGA hat.
Don’t be fooled. I see people alone in a car driving with a mask on. Some where right now there is a democrat, home alone, taking a shower with a mask on.
Wait, there’s actually people still out there who think masks keep you from getting sick?
At least people with brains!!!!
If you have been paying attention to this bill the republicans wanted to ban mask but when the democrats brought up the klan wearing mask and how it should ban them also then the republicans voted against it because they did. It want the klan to ban their mask because it would have looked bad for them
Pardon?
More government overreach. Anyone who thinks letting the government tell us what to (or not to wear) is a SOCIALST. #VoteOutIncumbents
Could this be the start of common sense in politics? instead of the normal pandering for votes politics we’ve become accustomed to?
Unfortunately politicians only care about getting re-elected not the people that supposedly represent.
#VoteOutIncumbents
See, our “wise” legislators made an exemption to wearing a mask in public during the Covid hysteria. Now, they want to walk it back. Gotta love ’em…
§ 14-12.8. Wearing of masks, hoods, etc., on public property.
No person or persons shall in this State, while wearing any mask, hood or device whereby the person, face or voice is disguised so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, or appear upon or within the public property of any municipality or county of the State, or of the State of North Carolina. (1953, c. 1193, s. 7.)
This was the statute in NC for over 50 years. Why cant we just put that in place again???
Because an existing 50 year old law doesn’t allow them to pander for votes! It’s time to get rid of these IDOITS!!!
My wife and I are supposed to wear mask in enclosed places now like the supermarket but the only time we really put them on is when we are in a little place like an elevator or at the hospital when we go for testing. The Government has no right to tell us when we can or cant or when or when not to wear mask. We also sanitize our hands frequently. Just trying to be safer as we know it is no guarantee that a mask will protect us 100%.
They never should have repealed the original law during Covid that ushered in mask wearing.