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How Laws Intended to Protect Black People May Impact Public Health Moving Forward
The debate about wearing masks to slow the spread of COVID-19 has been entirely too heated.
Some people have been outright refusing. Others, including many of my friends, are looking at what happened to flu this season and saying they’ll wear masks in flu season in the future.
Unfortunately, that may get them into some serious trouble. See, in communities and states across America it is, in fact, illegal to wear a mask.
Why Does the U.S. Have Anti-Mask Laws?
The anti-mask laws are aimed squarely at one specific target.
The Ku Klux Klan.
By making wearing a mask illegal the police, in theory, got a weapon to break up Klan gatherings and arrest them before they actually did something.
Around 15 states have some form of anti-mask law on the books, as do many counties and municipalities.
There are generally at least some exemptions. For example, there are exceptions for Halloween and for costume parties and masquerades. (I’ve never heard of a cosplayer being arrested for a mask, even in jurisdictions that outlaw masks).