Wearing masks is illegal???

[GhostRider66]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050526/D8AAUV9G0.html

Man Arrested for Wearing Grinch Mask

May 26, 11:47 AM (ET)

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) - City and county attorneys are defending Wheeling police who arrested a man for wearing a Grinch mask while walking along a city street.

Norman Eugene Gray, 42, was arrested Tuesday. He was arraigned and released on a personal recognizance bond.

Officers saw Gray about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, told him to take the mask off and not put it on again. Gray removed it and asked why he could not wear it, according to Wheeling police reports. Officers told him wearing masks in public is illegal.

Gray said he felt he had a right to wear it and said it was not illegal. He put the mask back on and was arrested. The mask was confiscated.

Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth and Ohio County Prosecutor Scott Smith said masks as well as dark window tinting in vehicles can pose a safety hazard to law enforcement officers and hinder efforts to identify criminal suspects.

"When we think about masks, we don't always think of Halloween," Humway-Warmuth said.

Smith said wearing a mask or hood in public is a misdemeanor under state law, punishable by a fine of up to $500 or up to a year in jail, or both. Children up to 16 years old can wear masks. Traditional Halloween masks, safety gear used in occupations, theatrical productions, civil defense or protection from bad weather also are legal.

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Information from: The Intelligencer, http://www.theintelligencer.net

Wow! Just wow!

 

[Vernal45]

Masks today, Guns tomorrow.

 

[Henry Bowman]

Yes, 'tis true in many states. Kind of like "burger tools." In some cases it originated as an anti-KKK law. It is generally overlooked on Halloween and during extremely cold weather (ski masks). I remember my father telling me about such laws when I was a kid (1960s) and remember being astonished at the time.

 

[garyk/nm]

So I guess the THR costume party idea is a no-go?
What idiocy.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

No doubt they're busy arresting baseball catchers, scuba divers, surgeons, welders and similar dangerous criminals.

 

[2nd Amendment]

A hood? I have a couple slickers and what would best be described as a cape(stop the snickering ya bums) which have hoods. They are quite handy when it, umm, rains...snows...little things like that. And if I put on a pair of sunglasses whoa buddy, I am incognito.

 

[RaggedClaws]

Kind of like "burger tools."

You need a mask to make burgers?

 

[Henry Bowman]

You need a mask to make burgers?

You do if I'm cookin'. meant: "burgler tools."

Also the prohibition may be limited to "in public." A quick check indicates that Ohio does not have such a law.

 

[Standing Wolf]

"When we think about masks, we don't always think of Halloween," Humway-Warmuth said.

Those individuals think? I'm waiting to be convinced.

 

[GhostRider66]

To keep this gun oriented: This is exactly the same mentality that is used by the gun-control types. I wonder exactly how effective this law is as a deterrent to all of the potentially masked villians out there. "Hmmm...gonna rob a liquor store today. Mask or no mask? Better not wear the mask. Sure would hate the extra charge and possible jail time."

 

[dasmi]

Gray said he felt he had a right to wear it and said it was not illegal. He put the mask back on and was arrested. The mask was confiscated.

Well thank God they got another evil mask off the streets. It's for the children.

 

[RaggedClaws]

Henry,

I know you meant burglar tools, I'm just messing wit ya

 

[Harry Tuttle]

Once again we are saved from the nefarious actions of those wierd, "fun loving" people. Why next week, the grinchy dood might don a helmet and drive past a lake with a thermos full of....

CRANBERRY JUICE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GhostRider66]

This must really play hell with the annual Mardi Gras celebration.

 

[goalie]

I hope wearing my goalie mask in the public ice arena is still OK here in Minnesota. I'm ugly enough without having to go "Glenn Hall" or "Turk Broda" in the crease.

 

[El Tejon]

Laws forbidding masks were started in the North to combat the horrific evil of the Ku Klux Klan.

 

[Alex45ACP]

There are cameras that can match up your face with a database. These cameras will be deployed all over the USA in a few years, and wearing a mask would hinder the police state.

 

[mons meg]

In OK, the no-mask law has a clause specifically for Halloween and other celebrations, costume parites, and the like. Interestly enough, wearing a mask during a burglary is declared prima facie evidence of intent.

 

[cropcirclewalker]

The way it looks, the law is intended to allow LEOs to recognize bad guys. (For their safety) So he took off the mask, looked them in the puss then put it back on. They knew he was not a BG thus eliminating the need for the application of the law to him.

I think hes gonna walk.

I am in the market for some of those glasses with the big nose and mustache to wear when I have to drive around and through the lou (or other big city with the facial recognition equipment). I wonder if they would consider that a mask.

 

[TheFederalistWeasel]

OCGA Title 16, Chapter 11, Section 38 (16-11-38)

(a) A person is guilty of a misdemeanor when he wears a mask, hood, or device by which any portion of the face is so hidden, concealed, or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer and is upon any public way or public property or upon the private property of another without the written permission of the owner or occupier of the property to do so.

(b) This Code section shall not apply to:

(1) A person wearing a traditional holiday costume on the occasion of the holiday;

(2) A person lawfully engaged in trade and employment or in a sporting activity where a mask is worn for the purpose of ensuring the physical safety of the wearer, or because of the nature of the occupation, trade, or profession, or sporting activity;

(3) A person using a mask in a theatrical production including use in Mardi gras celebrations and masquerade balls; or

(4) A person wearing a gas mask prescribed in emergency management drills and exercises or emergencies.

 

[cropcirclewalker]

Mr. Weasel,

Sounds like if I ever go back to Georgia I will have to shave off my full beard.

 

[SaintofKillers]

Well I guess I will have to throw away my Cat in the Hat hat and giant sunglasses.

I am really starting to wonder how much of this I can take.

A man has got to know his limitations.

 

[sm]

Hello...is the DC Police Dept? Yes I want to report illegal activities up on The Hill. The Problem? Oh it seems we have a LOT of folks up there wearing masks.
Yeah they are supposed to be upholding the Constitution and all - instead they are hiding behind faces of tyranny...

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Interestly enough, wearing a mask during a burglary is declared prima facie evidence of intent.

Really?

I must be slow in the head, but I would have thought that the act of commiting a burglary would be all the indication necessary to demonstrate intent. Does this mean if someone is caught in the act of burglarizing a house but is not wearing a mask, the authorities DON'T have prima facie proof that the person "intended" to commit the burglary during which they were arrested?

Bad guy: "Gosh no, Officer, I most certainly didn't intend to burglarize this house that I just broke into. I mean, it's not like I was wearing a mask or anything illegal."

LEO: "Oh. Okay, son. You can leave. Have a nice evening."

 

[davec]

Most of these types of laws have their origins at preventing the Klan from marching with hoods.

http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=335&printable=1

At least 18 states have "anti-masking" laws that make it a crime to wear a mask in public. Most of the laws were passed between the 1920s and the 1950s, in reaction to waves of violence perpetrated by the Klan.

Public officials argued that the laws were needed to protect the public from Klan intimidation and violence and that banning masks would aid law enforcement in identifying criminals.

But there are countervailing First Amendment issues at stake. In a series of cases, the Supreme Court has made it clear that citizens have the right to communicate and associate anonymously, without fear of harassment or reprisals by others who oppose their views.