Nassau County, NY Makes Masking Illegal - Why Medical Exemptions Aren't the Answer

Defendants of mask bans point to medical exemptions as proof that disabled people have nothing to worry about. They're wrong. A look at why bans are ableist, discriminatory and dangerous.

Nassau County, NY recently became the latest place to make masking a criminal act. In June I wrote about the North Carolina mask ban - and why it was discriminatory, ableist and dangerous to the health and safety of people in that State. One of my main concerns was that without significant public outcry - more places would follow suit.

Now here we are - with Nassau County, NY enacting a ban that makes masking in public illegal and punishable with a $1000 fine and/or jail time. Can you mask for medical reasons? Officially yes - except it will be up to the police to determine WHO is medically justified in wearing a mask.

Unsurprisingly - the bill passed along party lines - with all twelve republicans voting in favour of the mask ban. There were mask advocates in attendance - but many reported on social media that they weren’t given adequate time to speak and that people were chanting for their arrest. The seven Democrats on the committee abstained from the vote. I would LOVE to know why they abstained instead of voting ‘No’… it’s disheartening to see that not a single one was willing to stand up and say these bans are wrong.

It’s no secret that I’m strongly opposed to mask bans. Legislators say they’re designed to deter crime - when we know a medical mask does very little to obscure identity.  

The reality is there’s no evidence to suggest mask bans will stop crime - however there’s ample proof that they will deter high risk individuals from masking in public (or from being in public at all). 

Invisible illnesses and disabilities are difficult for even doctors to understand - no one is going to feel comfortable letting a police officer determine if they’re “disabled enough” to not be breaking the law. 

I think about my own situation and how I would feel being out in public wearing my respirator if a ban was in place. I’m the definition of “high risk”. I have multiple comorbid conditions and I’m immune compromised. But I don’t ‘look sick’. My illnesses are almost all invisible. My immune system doesn’t flash ‘impaired’ on my forehead (maybe it should!). To look at me you wouldn’t KNOW how sick I am.

I also have Dysautonomia - which is a literal malfunctioning of the autonomic nervous system. That’s the system responsible for unconscious processes like heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, sweating, digestion etc. When I’m in a stressful situation - my symptoms intensify. If I were to be questioned by the police I would be short of breath, sweaty, twitchy and tachycardic. I’m going to ‘look’ like I’m nervous or doing something wrong.

The sad truth is that no matter how justified I would be in wearing a mask - if I’m confronted by law enforcement I’m going to raise red flags. Police are trained to look for physical signs of nervousness or lying - they are NOT trained to assess a person’s medical history or disability.

I’m not afraid to admit that these bans scare me - and what scares me even more is the fact that I’m a cishet white female who is not likely to be profiled by law enforcement. What about the people who don’t look like me? People keep saying that you can mask as long as you’re not ‘doing something wrong’ - and it belies logic that anyone could genuinely believe that.

The reality is that people are stopped by the police all the time for being marginalized, a person of colour, looking “suspicious” etc. These bans will disproportionately impact those already most at risk of profiling and/or unlawful search and arrest. 

In addition to the threat of being stopped by law enforcement - bans like this increase the likelihood of harassment and violence against mask wearers¹ - because people feel emboldened by the government effectively telling them that those who mask are “bad”. We aren’t bad - we’re just trying to survive.

We should ALL have a problem with this. Even if you loathe masks and are angry they were mandated at the beginning of the pandemic - you should be able to see that police are not medical professionals. They shouldn’t be the ones to decide who can and can’t protect their health. I would imagine they don’t WANT to be in that position either - the cost of getting it wrong will possibly be someone’s life.

That’s what this boils down to. A person’s right to protect their health. It isn’t just Covid - people have to mask for pollen, smoke, chemicals and more. It’s a personal decision and should be treated no different than if a person needs a wheelchair, cane or other assistive device. 

Image Description: A woman with a green sweater and dark hair is seen wearing a black mask. She’s holding her head in her hands. There’s a red circle with a line through it that says Why ban masks? Photo Credit: engin akyurt on unsplash.

Which brings us to medical exemptions. Supporters of mask bans are eager to point out that medical exemptions mean disabled people have nothing to worry about. They couldn’t be more wrong.

Why Medical Exemptions Aren’t the Answer

I’ve already explained why I would worry about masking in places with a ban - medical exemption or not. There’s no official exemption in place - the burden is on the disabled person to PROVE they’re masking for the ‘right reasons’. What are the ‘right reasons’? That’s up to law enforcement. In North Carolina the language explicitly states you can mask to prevent spreading a contagious disease. Does this mean you have to prove you’re contagious? Can you mask to prevent CATCHING a disease?

Image Description: A copy of the North Carolina mask ban bill with red arrows pointing to the ‘medical exemption’ which clearly states you can mask to prevent spreading disease. Via Dr Jessica Offir on X.

These are the types of issues disability and mask advocates are wrestling with. The language is purposefully vague and will deter people from masking at all. In Nassau County it just says there will be an exemption for medical masking - but leaves it up to the police to determine who’s legitimate.

I don’t know about other people - but given how much trouble I’ve had convincing certain healthcare workers of my need to wear a mask - I don’t feel great about my odds of convincing law enforcement.

There’s also the important issue of caregivers, family and friends of high risk individuals. They need to mask too - but wouldn’t qualify for any medical exemption. They’re masking to protect US - because we don’t live in a vacuum. We need support and help from people who we trust to mask in public to avoid bringing Covid or other diseases home to us.

Perhaps the most glaring omission from the ‘medical exemption’ argument - and one that I suspect is being purposefully buried and left out of the discussion - is that we are ALL at risk from Covid. It isn’t ‘only the vulnerable’. This is a multi-system vascular disease that is killing and disabling people in the millions. Many of them were perfectly young and healthy before they caught Covid.

We Are All Entitled to Protect Our Health

The idea that only those who are already sick and disabled should be legally permitted to mask is absurd. It feeds the narrative that for the non disabled among us - Covid is over. It’s mild. It’s an afterthought. There’s no point bothering with mitigations or masking because repeated infections won’t harm you. It is THE most harmful narrative of the pandemic - and these bans fuel it whether they intend to or not.

My heart aches for everyone who wants and needs to protect their health in places that are enacting these bans - and I can only hope that if we keep getting loud and pushing back we can stop them from spreading. 

Don’t make the mistake of assuming it can’t happen where you live - these bans can (and will) be enacted in more places if there isn’t significant public outcry. The Mayor of Los Angeles was considering a mask ban - and in a feat of ultimate karma - tested positive for Covid a few days later. The Mayor of NYC has also come out in favour of bans.

Violet Affleck - daughter of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner - has been one of the few public figures speaking out against bans and imploring people to mask in high risk settings like hospitals and long term care homes. Unfortunately she’s one of a very small group of people giving this issue the attention it deserves.

At the end of the day - masks and respirators are a medical tool. They’re literally PPE (personal protective equipment). Medical tools should never be banned. They make public spaces accessible to high risk people and they protect communities. They help. They don’t harm.

You know what does harm? Unmitigated Covid spread. Ableism. Police profiling and law enforcement overreach. Anti-mask aggression. Bad policies and the refusal to pay attention to the science of airborne spread. There are 400 million people living with Long Covid - people whose lives have been forever changed. Many of those infections could have been prevented by mask wearing and better public health guidance. The fact that we are STILL looking away while millions die or become disabled is the very definition of harm.

Nassau County just became more unsafe for everyone. Maskers and non maskers alike. Just like North Carolina before them… they’ve sent a very clear message that vulnerable people don’t matter. Marginalized people don’t matter. Ableism is alive and well. Caring about your health - and the health of those around you - is officially a crime.

Please keep making noise. Speak out and share your story. Call and email elected officials and advise them you do not support mask bans and won’t travel to any area with ugly laws on the books.

If you’ve stopped masking - now is an excellent time to start again. The more people wearing masks the harder it’ll be to pass these draconian bans. We MUST normalize masking as a public health tool and push back on the narrative that ‘only the vulnerable’ need to worry about Covid. Let’s make protecting each other cool again!

I love reading and responding to comments - so please feel free to let me know what you think of mask bans. Are you still masking? Do you mask for yourself or someone else? Have you ever been harassed for wearing a mask and has it deterred you from masking or going to certain public places?

1. I posted on twitter/X and bluesky asking for people to share examples of being harassed for wearing a mask. The replies were overwhelming. There have been news stories about violence against mask wearers - but remember that for every story that makes the news there could be multiple ones that don’t. Two high profile stories were Will Keenan - left blind in one eye after being assaulted for masking and Shari Stuart - a NC woman who was coughed on when she refused to remove her mask.