County Nassau, New Yorkbecame the first place in the US in ban the use of masks in public placesexcept in cases of religious, medical or cultural needs.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed a bill Wednesday that aims to improve public safetythus, the law will come into force immediately.

The project was approved earlier this month by the Nassau County Legislature. controlled by Republicans.

The 12 Republicans who voted for the measure said the law would prevent violent protesters from hiding their identities. The body’s seven Democrats, for their part, abstained from voting.

In early August, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) criticized Nassau’s mask ban, noting that This is a violation of the right to free speech.

“People who break the law face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. Across the country, mask bans have recently been used to attack pro-Palestinian protesters,” the group said in a statement.

The NYCLU says the mask ban is a “dangerous misuse of the law to score political points and target protesters.”

“Ban people from expressing their opinions (at demonstrations) protect yourself and your person, put your health and well-being at risk, “especially people with disabilities, people of color, and people with unpopular views,” the organization said in a statement.

In June, Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she was considering ending mask-wearing on the New York City subway, but no specific plans to implement such a ban have been announced.

It has become popular during the Covid-19 pandemic. and in some US states, the use of masks in public places has even been banned by law to avoid infection.

EFE