In the wake of violent protests at a Los Angeles synagogue over the weekend, city officials said they would examine what kind of rules exist or could be enforced to require whether and how people should be allowed to wear masks during public demonstrations.
It was unclear what such restrictions might look like — Mayor Karen Bass didn’t offer any specifics, saying only that City Attorney Heidi Feldstein Soto would “examine the idea of people wearing masks at protests and establishing clear demarcation lines between what is legal and what is not.”
And now Los Angeles may never know. Bass downplayed expectations of any ban during a news conference Wednesday.
Though he didn’t completely rule out the idea and said it was still on the table, Bass acknowledged such legislation could face legal challenges.
“At this point, we do not believe this case will stand judicial scrutiny,” Bass said.
As the mayor’s comments make clear, the question of whether to ban face coverings, which have been a regular sight at protests in Los Angeles and on college campuses, has also cropped up. The ongoing war in GazaIt’s a tough job. Cities are trying to strike a balance between protecting people’s right to protest and demonstrate publicly — while also stopping those who want to incite violence.
There are also public health implications as a world grapples with the wounds of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Barry MacDonald, a law professor at Pepperdine University who focuses on First Amendment law, said that “there is no clear answer to antimasking laws,” because governing bodies must take into account the protection of anonymous free speech.
However, Eugene Volokh, a professor of First Amendment law at UCLA, said it is possible to draft a city ordinance banning the wearing of masks in public places.
Why has this issue arisen now?
On Sunday, a demonstration took place outside. Adas Torah Synagogue Violence erupted in the predominantly Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood, with clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators — who said they were protesting a program promoting the sale of stolen Palestinian land at the synagogue — and Israeli supporters.
Many in the crowd wore disposable face masks, or kaffiyeh, which covered their faces, leaving only their eyes visible.
The use of face coverings at such protests has prompted debate in some circles and at times frustration from law enforcement agencies. A mob attacked a pro-Palestinian camp Police had difficulty identifying suspects in the May incident at UCLA Because many people were wearing masks,
Are there antimasking laws in California?
Historically, at least 18 states and Washington, D.C., have adopted antimasking laws to deal with masks and hoods used by members of the Ku Klux Klan, MacDonald said.
California previously had a law in 1923 that made it a crime for a person to wear a mask to conceal their identity in a public place. However, the constitutionality of this law was challenged because it was used to justify the wearing of masks in public places. Arrest of Iranian citizens Protesting against the Shah of Iran’s regime in front of the Iranian Consulate in San Francisco in 1978.
Those arrested were students and members of the Iranian Student Union, who had pamphlets pasted over their faces to hide their identities. The California First District Court of Appeal later determined that the students were protesting peacefully when they were arrested and feared retaliation by the Iranian government against them and their relatives in Iran. The use of the law was found to be unconstitutional and the law itself was invalidated.
The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to issue a definitive ruling on the constitutionality of antimasking laws, McDonald said, and different courts and jurisdictions have taken different approaches depending on how specific laws are written.
But general mask restrictions do exist. South Carolina law states that no person over the age of 16 shall wear an identity-concealing mask in public. There are some exemptions to the law, including masks worn during holiday costumes, a person’s employment, theater productions and civil defense drills. International Nonprofit Law Center,
Some antimask laws still exist in California, too. Volokh found old ordinances in the cities of Oakland, Modesto and Lomita that he believes are outdated.
Oakland’s ordinance states It is illegal in the city for a person to wear a mask in public places that conceals their identity – except during Carnival.
In Face coverings are not allowed in Modesto At demonstrations, rallies, protests and public meetings. The exception is coverings worn due to religious beliefs or medical necessity.
Ordinance of Lomita No person may wear a mask on a public street without the permission of the sheriff.
Volokh said there are two issues with these ordinances. They are broad and could be challenged in court. Second, they could prove difficult to enforce.
How can a law enforcement officer know just by looking at someone at a protest whether they are wearing a mask for religious reasons or because of a medical condition, Volokh said, especially after the pandemic?
“If these protests are saying, ‘We want everybody’s identity to be revealed,’ then whenever you make exemptions it becomes very difficult to make the law effective,” he said.
Could an antimask ordinance violate free speech rights?
there is one Narrow antimask laws The law in California prohibits a person from wearing a mask or disguise to avoid arrest or detection while committing a crime.
But, MacDonald said, “the government cannot assume that just because you wear a mask at a protest, you intend to commit a crime with it or to avoid getting caught.”
He said people who wear masks while demonstrating or protesting may do so because they want to avoid facial recognition technology, intimidation, harassment, retaliation or doxing.
If a protester wearing a mask uses the mask to commit an illegal act and then attempts to evade police investigation or arrest, he or she may be prosecuted.
“There’s a very strong argument that it’s your constitutional right to wear a mask,” MacDonald said. “As long as you’re doing it for legitimate reasons and you’re conducting a peaceful protest.”
