North Carolina approves proposed changes to wearing face masks in public

The North Carolina General Assembly on Tuesday approved changes to a proposed bill that seeks to limit who can wear face masks in public, which will now allow people to wear medical face masks for some medical reasons.

The changes come after state lawmakers faced backlash over attempting to ban face masks in all cases, even for people who still choose to wear them for health reasons. The original bill was first passed last month, and the revised bill passed the state Senate last week. It now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who could veto the bill. But Republicans hold a super majority in both chambers, and could override the veto.

The new bill was passed by the General Assembly in a 69-43 vote, according to the Associated Press, and includes language that lets people wear “medical or surgical grade masks” to help prevent spreading contagious diseases. Critics of the previous bill claimed that masks made things safer for people who were immunocompromised.

The main focus of the bill is increasing punishments for people who wear masks while committing crimes and for people that block traffic during protests. The bill comes after anti-Israel protesters used the masks to conceal their identities during demonstrations at multiple U.S. colleges.  

The changes also allow law enforcement and property owners to ask someone to temporarily remove their mask for identification.

“Basically, you can wear a mask for health and safety if you’re not planning on breaking the law,” Gaston County Republican lawmaker John Torbett, one of the bill’s sponsors, told the AP. 

The bill amends state statues on masking, which date back to when the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) was active in North Carolina in 1953. The state legislature in the '50s passed the mask statues to curb KKK membership in the state. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.