DREDF, DRC and 89 Organizations Condemn Mask Bans and Urge Lawmakers Not to Adopt Them to Protect the Right of People with Disabilities to Participate in the Community Safely

Latest News
Jul 31, 2024

DREDF, DRC and 89 Organizations Condemn Mask Bans and Urge Lawmakers Not to Adopt Them to Protect the Right of People with Disabilities to Participate in the Community Safely

State and local governments are increasingly proposing mask bans as a response to public protest.1 Mask bans are laws that make it illegal for people to wear masks in public. These laws make it harder and even impossible for disabled people and their allies to access public spaces – including collective actions for the expression of constitutionally protected speech – without fear and harassment. They put disabled people and their family members at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

North Carolina just passed a law that unreasonably restricts wearing a mask.2 Recently, Ohio, Florida, and Texas charged pro-Palestinian protesters for wearing masks.3 New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles mayors, along with Gov. Hochul of New York, have endorsed laws that criminalize wearing masks at protests.4 Exemptions to mask bans for “health reasons” are ineffective, and impossible to enforce without reinforcing biases5 and subjecting people to policing, surveillance, and demands to remove masks.6

Mask bans are inexcusable, especially now while COVID-19 is surging across the United States.7 Disabled people are at higher risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Severe COVID-19 infections disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), older adults, higher-weight people, pregnant people, and unhoused people.8 COVID-19 is also disabling, causing Long Covid and other ongoing impairments.9 Since the end of the official public health emergency period, most COVID-19 protections have been removed, creating more barriers for disabled and high-risk individuals to participate safely in community life.10  

Wearing a mask should not be a crime. People who wish to wear a mask to protect themselves from infectious diseases at protests or anywhere else have the right to do so. Wearing a mask protects public health and is one of the only protections left to prevent COVID-19 spread.11 The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment.12 Protesters have the right to wear a mask to protect themselves from COVID-19 or public exposure such as doxxing (publishing someone’s personal information online to encourage harassment for their views).13

Disabled people have the right to protest. Disabled people have the right to use tools like masks that allow them to participate in community activities and events. Disabled people have the right to wear masks at protests to protect their health and to protect their identities if they choose. Mask bans endanger disabled people and make demonstrations and other public events inaccessible. People attending protests should not be forced to risk contracting COVID-19 without a mask or face criminal penalties or police interactions for masking. Police interactions can be deadly, particularly for people who are BIPOC, disabled, or both.14

August 6, 2024 Update: Nassau County lawmakers in New York passed a law making it a crime to wear a mask, punishable by up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.15 All 12 Republicans voted in favor of the “Mask Transparency Act.” The seven Democrats abstained. Opponents of the bill say that it could lead to discrimination against Black and brown people. The public hearing was contentious, and tensions boiled over when a woman was arrested at around 6:30 p.m. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is expected to sign the legislation.16

The following organizations signed on to this statement:

Alliance for Children's Rights
Assistive.consulting
Autistic People of Color Fund
Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Black Woman Sanctuary
Cal Voices
California Community Living Network
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association (CLTCOA)
California Peer Watch
California State Council on Developmental Disabilities
California Walks
Caring Across Generations
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ)
Center for Independent Living
Center for Public Representation
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Child Care Law Center
ClimatePlan
Coalition on Homelessness
Common Humanity Collective
Communication 4 ALL
CommunicationFIRST
Community Access Center
Council on American Islamic Relations, California (CAIR-CA)
COVID Safe Campus
Covid Safer PDX
Dayle McIntosh Center for the Disabled
Disability Belongs
Disability Community Resource Center
Disability Culture Lab
Disability Law Center (MA)
Disability Law Colorado
Disability Rights Advocates
Disability Rights Arkansas
Disability Rights Florida
Disability Rights Maine
Disability Rights New Jersey
Disability Rights North Carolina
Disability Rights Ohio
Disability Rights Tennessee
Disability Rights Texas
Easterseals California
Family Voices of California
Fan Favorite SD
FREED Center for Independent Living
Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network
Home Health Care Management, Inc.
Human Impact Partners
Independent Living resource Center San Francisco
Independent Living Resource Center, Inc
Infinite Flow Dance
Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ)
Legal Voice
LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired San Francisco
Lyn Goldfarb Productions
Mask Bloc East Bay
Mask Bloc Palm Beach
Mask Bloc Seattle
Maskbloc
Maternal and Child Health Access
Micronesian Islander Community
Mighty Community Advocacy
Muslim Advocates
National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
National Disabled Legal Professionals Association
NextGen California
NorCal Resist
North Dakota Protection & Advocacy Project
Not Dead Yet
Perkins School for the Blind
Placer Independent Resource Services
Resources for Independence Central Valley
Rolling Start, Inc. Center for Independent Living
Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness
San Jose State University Human Rights Institute
SanDiego350
Senior and Disability Action
Service Center for Independent Life (SCIL)
Sunrise Davis
Sunrise Movement Sacramento
The East Oakland Collective
The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies
Transbay Coalition
Washington Civil & Disability Advocate
WeBelong:Everywhere
Western Center on Law and Poverty

 

Disability Rights California (DRC) – Is the agency designated under federal law to protect and advocate for the rights of Californians with disabilities. The mission of drc is to defend, advance, and strengthen the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities. For more information visit: https://www.disabilityrightsca.org.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) is a leading national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents who have children with disabilities. Founded in 1979, DREDF works to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development. Learn more at dredf.org.