Photo credit – Matt Meduri
While the chronic crime continues to bedevil Empire State residents, namely those in New York City, a bill to combat and deter crimes committed by mask-concealed perpetrators has emerged on the Senate floor.
Senator Dean Murray’s (R-East Patchogue) latest bill, S.9891, would establish a crime of aggravated criminal concealment of identity. The bill would not only establish the new crime as Section 498 within the New York State penal code and be levied to perpetrators who commit crimes while wearing face coverings, but also allow for enhanced charges to be brought forth for specified crimes while committing the new crimes of aggravated concealment of identity.
The Messenger sat down with Senator Murray to discuss the aspects of his bill.
Firstly, Murray notes a stark contrast between this bill and the recently-enacted mask bill in Nassau County. The latter bill, championed and signed by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R-Atlantic Beach), bans face coverings in public unless in the cases of illnesses or immunocompromised individuals. Murray finds the new law, which is already receiving an onslaught of litigation, difficult to enforce and counterproductive to both measures of combating crime and general political participation.
“You have every right to protest; activism is your First Amendment right,” Murray tells The Messenger. “If you’re sick, had surgery, or are otherwise immunocompromised, but you’re also politically active, this bill would not affect your ability to protest while wearing a mask. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to gather outside with a hundred people to protest something you feel strongly about.”
“This bill wouldn’t do what the Nassau bill does,” Murray continues. “Rather than outright banning masks in public places, this bill would enhance criminal charges for crimes committed while wearing a face covering.”
Murray says that his bill would treat crimes committed while concealing one’s identity similar to how hate crimes or gun crimes are processed. For example, an assault or even a murder that’s proven to have been rooted in a racial bias are prosecuted as hate crimes on those grounds. A person who commits a crime with a firearm and does not have proper permits or registrations would face enhanced charges for commission of said crime.
“My bill does exactly that; it functions on the exact same premise. You can wear a mask anywhere, anytime, anyhow, but if you commit a crime while wearing a mask, it brings a charge of aggravated concealment of identity,” says Murray. “You will go to jail for longer and have more charges held against you.”
Such crimes committed have been observed as destruction of property, assault, and even assaults or attacks on law enforcement, many commissions of which have occurred while a perpetrator(s) is concealing his/her identity. Should the bill go into effect, those perpetrators would face larger charges and stiffer penalties.
Murray also uses another crime as an example, one that is less persistent in hot-button headlines as of late: stalking.
“If a woman takes out an order of protection against you, and you’re following her, that constitutes stalking,” says Murray. “If you’re stalking her while wearing a mask, it’s obvious that you’re intending to conceal your identity to get away with it. The penalties for stalking and the violation of the order become enhanced and you’re charged with the new crime.”
The breadth of the proposed legislation is not relegated to high-stakes protests, or even riots, that are especially active lately.
Murray adds that the bill is designed to serve as a “deterrent” to perpetrators who might use face coverings as an avenue to subvert criminal charges for crimes they commit while their identities are concealed.
“We’re not looking to take away anyone’s rights or be overzealous. We believe in personal freedoms. With that said, we don’t want you to think that you can use masks as a way to get away with committing crimes anonymously,” says Murray.
Murray sums up his bill as a “compromise:” “Wear the mask if you feel comfortable, but do not commit a crime while wearing it. I think that’s a fair compromise. You’re perfectly welcome to wear your face covering for medical or even religious reasons, but do not commit a crime while doing so.”
Murray says that a Suffolk County-bred impetus for the legislation was the recent protests at Stony Brook University over the Israel-Gaza War. Furthermore, the bill would also offer a check on the relative power of protestors in New York City who are targeting Jewish communities, namely students at Jewish universities.
“I want to make sure that we’re putting forth legislation that protects every New Yorker and would apply to everyone,” says Murray.
The bill differs both in premise and enforceability from its Nassau County predecessor.
“How do you enforce that?” asks Murray of the Nassau County bill. Banning masks in public, except for medical reasons, requires much more scrutiny from law enforcement, and even hearkens to a time of mandatory vaccination identification for travel, leisure, and/or education in New York in the year following the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Such regulations were seen as overreaches by State and local governments, primarily by conservative lawmakers and residents.
“I’m looking for a sensible compromise, and I think this accomplishes that, but it’s also enforceable,” Murray says of his proposal.
Interestingly, Murray says that Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has signaled support of such an idea. Murray also says that this bill has a “better shot” of passing the State legislature than an outright mask ban would.
“Our democratic colleagues tend to shy away from anything that increases penalties for people doing the wrong things,” says Murray. “I think we might have some [Democrats] who will jump on board.”
Currently, the bill has six Senate cosponsors: George Borello (R-Sunset Bay), Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-Malverne), Joseph Griffo (R-Rome), Peter Oberacker (R-Schenevus), Steven Rhoads (R-Bellmore), and James Tedisco (R-Saratoga Springs).
Murray is confident the legislation will receive an Assembly sponsor in the coming weeks.
S.9891 currently sits with the Senate Rules Committee.
