Kerwin Pittman and Dawn Blagrove spoke to the North Carolina General Assembly earlier this week about the harmful new bill proposed titled “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals.” The bill was presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week in an attempt to target and thwart protesters on college campuses where some protestors have worn face masks. The bill would repeal an exemption created during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow people to wear masks for health and safety reasons.
Emancipate NC’s Kerwin Pittman said the bill is an “overreaction.”
“People show up legitimately wearing masks to demonstrations for safety concerns. Let’s be honest. COVID is still out there. Individuals are still catching COVID. People tend to show up how they feel comfortable in showing up. And, we know that the pandemic really brought out a lot of people’s safety concerns. And, so, I think it’s kind of a trend that has caught on.”
Pittman fears the bill would have a chilling effect on those exercising their First Amendment rights.
“Sometimes demonstrations swell in numbers and you have no choice but to be in the street. I think this is a maliciously intended bill to target individuals who are demonstrating.”