John,

In case you missed it, mask bans¹ are spreading fast. The latest bill² that would criminalize masking was proposed by New Jersey Senator and gubernatorial candidate Jon Bramnick, making it the sixth anti-mask measure proposed at the state level just this year. We need to build strong opposition to these pro-surveillance, anti-public health bills before it's too late. Have you taken action yet to stop mask bans?

In Nassau County, New York, where a mask ban recently passed after a public hearing in which health and privacy advocates were jeered at and arrested³, the first anti-mask arrests have already begun. A Latino man was stopped and frisked by police under the new law, leaving police applauding the mask ban as a helpful tool for “apprehending criminals.”⁴ A pro-Palestinian protestor was arrested in Long Island on Sunday under the Nassau County ban for wearing a keffiyeh, or traditional Palestinian scarf.⁵ The weaponized enforcement of the ban comes despite a federal lawsuit⁶ alleging the ban is unconstitutionally discriminatory against disabled people due to the broad powers it affords police and everyday citizens to harass mask-wearers and demand their health status.

While lawmakers like New Jersey Senator Bramnick claim they only want to penalize mask-wearing while “committing a crime,”⁷ police crackdowns on anti-genocide protests and the continued rise in facial recognition and surveillance targeting Black and Brown communities make it clear that the bans are a tool for creating criminalization, not stopping it.

Lawmakers in every state need to hear that mask bans are dangerous– to our health, our privacy, and our freedom of speech⁸. Bills that penalize mask-wearing, whether they present as blanket bans or “reasonable” anti-crime bills with vague health exemptions, give police more tools to target and criminalize marginalized people and intimidate mask-wearers, making it harder for everyone to keep their health and privacy protected. Will you take action at StopMaskBans.com to tell your lawmakers you oppose anti-mask legislation?

TAKE ACTION

If you’re a New Jersey resident, voice your opposition to Senator Bramnick’s anti-mask bill by signing the local petition and find details there to contact your legislators and the bill's sponsors.

No NJ Mask Ban

Thank you for your support, John. We’ll keep you updated on this fight and more as we work toward a world without surveillance and censorship.

In solidarity,

Alex at ♥️ Fight

Footnotes:

Fight for the Future, PO Box 55071 #95005, Boston, MA 02205
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