The North Carolina Senate voted Wednesday to ban wearing masks in public for health reasons, following a heated debate. The vote was split along party lines.
Republicans argued that the ban would help police identify protesters who misuse pandemic-era norms to hide their identities with masks. “It’s about time that the craziness is at least slowed down, if not literally stopped,” said bill sponsor Buck Newton, R-Wilson.
Democrats, activists, and health advocates strongly opposed the ban, expressing concern about its potential consequences.
House Bill 237, if enacted, would prohibit everyone, not just protesters, from wearing masks in public for medical reasons. The bill passed 30-15, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed. “It’s unconscionable,” said Sen. Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake.
Sen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson, suggested the law could be interpreted to still allow masks for legitimate health reasons, despite the bill eliminating existing protections.
Democrats were skeptical. Sen. Natasha Marcus, D-Mecklenburg, questioned the motive behind the changes, suggesting it might be to gain political points with anti-mask voters. “Is it really that you find masked chemo patients that threatening?” she asked. “Or is this, more likely, a desire to score some political points with the anti-mask crowd during an election year, at the expense of vulnerable people?”
On the same day, the Senate also passed bills to:
Modernize sex crime laws to address new technologies like artificial intelligence.
Increase toll road late fees by 50%.
Allow billboard companies to cut down more roadside trees.
Automatically charge 16- and 17-year-olds as adults in many felony cases, partially reversing juvenile justice reforms from 2019.
Each bill now heads to the state House for approval before potentially being signed or vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Regarding the mask ban, Democratic lawmakers proposed amendments to protect those wearing masks for health reasons, but Republicans rejected each proposal without explanation.
Sen. Sydney Batch, D-Wake, a cancer survivor, shared her personal experience. Her family wore masks to protect her during treatment. “This bill criminalizes their behavior, and mine,” she said. “We talk a lot about freedoms in this chamber. I should have the freedom — my children and my husband should have the freedom — to wear masks in order to protect and save my life, without fear of being arrested and charged.”
Batch and Grafstein proposed amendments to retain police power to manage masked protesters while protecting public health mask use. Another amendment by Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, aimed to ban hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan and Proud Boys from wearing masks and enhance tracking of these groups. All amendments were rejected by Republicans without debate or explanation.
