Wearing a mask in North Carolina would remain legal for public health reasons, under a bill the state Legislature sent to the governor Wednesday.
Lawmakers approved an exemption to a state ban on masks and hoods enacted in 1953 to fight the Ku Klux Klan. The Legislature had temporarily eased the prohibition in May in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but set the ban to be reinstated Aug. 1.
The bill (S.B. 232), which now heads to Gov. Roy Cooper (D) for his consideration, still will prohibit wearing masks to conceal identities. The state House approved the measure Tuesday, 102 to 2, and the Senate passed it Wednesday, 43 to 4.
Cooper issued an order June 24 imposing a statewide requirement that face coverings be worn to help fight the virus. Several local governments in North Carolina already had adopted such a requirement or were moving to do so.
The vote comes as North Carolina is seeing an increase in the number of hospitalizations because of the virus. The state confirmed 77,310 cases and 1,441 deaths from Covid-19 as of Wednesday.
North Carolina is among a number of states with a mask ban enacted in response to past KKK violence. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, at least 18 states have such “anti-masking” laws on the books.
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:
See Breaking News in Context
Bloomberg Law provides trusted coverage of current events enhanced with legal analysis.
Already a subscriber?
Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.