[USA]Covering of face illegal?

Where I'm coming from...

I was recently at a convention that had many costumers and during one of the panels something was brought up that just didn't sit right with me and I wanted to get a public opinion on this as well as a good debate.

I care because I am a costumer myself and I want to obey the law so I can have fun while enjoying myself but I also want the laws to be fair, while having fun and wearing a costume isn't grounds for changing this law, religious reasons could/should be.



First off, what I heard..

I. I heard that in some states (have not researched all) it is ILLEGAL (proclaimed by courts/judges/state laws) to conceal one's and in one state in particular, it is a felony (side note: most states consider this to be a part of criminal anarchy/treason/crime against public order). One would be prosecuted on the same grounds as if they were impersonating a police officer.

Here is a direct quote for the exceptions:

(i) wearing traditional holiday costumes; (ii) engaged in professions, trades, employment or other activities and wearing protective masks which are deemed necessary for the physical safety of the wearer or other persons; (iii) engaged in any bona fide theatrical production or masquerade ball; or (iv) wearing a mask, hood or other device for bona fidemedical reasons upon the advice of a licensed physician





What this means..

This means that it is ILLEGAL to cover one's face (no matter the cause outside of what was just listed) INCLUDING ethic or religious clothing. Nothing can be worn in public covering a person's face on the street, on public property or a private business UNLESS they have official permission stated in writing.




In conclusion..

I am in no way experienced or versed in the ways of legal jargon, but from my understanding isn't this law unconstitutional?

I feel like it is infringing upon people's rights for freedom of religion and expression to be unable to wear such things. I understand to a point why they did it, for felon's who would conceal their faces and commit some kind of crime, but such a law seems too harsh and as I said unconstitutional.

I looked up other states (particularly the state I live in and used to live in) and found that the one (Pennsylvania) has no law/statutes against concealing a person's face.

The other state (Florida) on the other hand does but ONLY if the person is committing a crime and is wearing the mask/device to conceal their identity while doing so. It is not illegal to conceal one's face so long as they are not doing so for illegal purposes.




Why should you care?

At the end of the day, it is in my personal opinion (I am not a lawyer or person with legal prowess or excessive knowledge) an unconstitutional law that if allowed to remain could give grounds for more infringement.





What if I'm wrong and it is 100% constitutional?

So be it, this is purely my own beliefs and my understanding of constitutional rights, perhaps I am misunderstanding to a degree but like I said, I am in no way a lawyer nor officiated with one, this is purely my own research, findings and interpretations.


Please discuss as to why or why not this is unconstitutional as well as your own states view should you find it, I am curious as to what other states find this to fall under.

 

As unconstitutional as this law may seem the safety of the public will ALWAYS be put before rights of expression.

I'm personally for free right of expression BUT when it does come to the concealing of ones identity, generally there is no reason to do so unless you have something to hide. I also understand that there is a (VAST)minority of people such as yourself who like to dress up and assume identity and I could only begin to understand where you're coming from. If I had to take a guess I would say that it will stay illegal in America for the time being and for good cause.

 

1. Constitutional rights CANNOT be taken away under any circumstance, that's why they're deemed as such and there are specific courts that just deal with the constitutional rights of America.

2. Part of this is because I'm coming forward about costuming but that is not the main reason, it's also the religious rights of the people to wear their clothing to respect their culture.

3. It is NOT illegal in all the states of America, as far as I know (I have not looked at all of them) it is only illegal in one. I may have been long winded before but I did clarify it was not all of America.

 

Well, to benefit both sides, I would say that it should be acceptable for women to be able to cover their faces, as I know there are some religions (actually cultures) that do this, and that men SHOULD NOT be allowed to do this under any circumstance. The reason I say such is because, to my knowledge, there are no cultures/religions which encourage men to veil their entire faces (the whole purpose of veiling one's face is for safety from aggressive men by appearing less attractive). Hence, when a man covers his face... it might be for negative reasons.

Of course, women can take advantage of this... but women commit less crime anyways, no?

 

I wore a hoody last year to a large mall and it was very cold outside and I had only walked maybe 30 yards into the mall when I was told to take my hood off. I obliged the nice officer and continued on my way. While that may sound a bit crazy, it really does serve as a public safety risk to have someone conceal their identity. Now a hood, I have to agree, really doesn't do a good job of concealing identity and most places do not require you to take it off.

Let me ask you this, say someone prints libel about you in a tabloid and none of it is true. They still get sued, but isn't that their freedom of expression? If I want to say 'Hey, such and such is having a homosexual affair behind his wife's back.' Do I not have the right to express that sentiment? No I do not because that is bringing direct harm to another individual. There are circumstances when constitutionality is applied differently to laws concerning public safety and the safety of any individual.

France has outlawed, nationwide, full 'costuming' or identity concealing garb. (A very nice piece on why: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/opinion/05cope.html) and I have to agree with the writer.

Here is the main part of the article that I would like for you to focus on when you start talking about Freedoms:

There are no religions to my knowledge that force women to veil their entire face. There is a difference between religious tradition and true religious practice as exemplified in the final paragraph of the quote.

You quote Virginia's law, my home state, so here is the full law. (Sorry for all of errors in the following quote)

 

Doesn't really matter, and clothing that covers the face as part of a religious ceremony is covered under traditional holiday attire. The only thing that I can think of that's religious and not covered is the Muslim face thing for women, and that is quite a ridiculous "mask" if you ask me.

 

Free exercise only applies insofar as no compelling state interest exists to thwart the unlawful action. If religious freedom was absolute, there would be no way for the state to prevent practices such as human sacrifice, for example.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Exercise_Clause#Compelling_interest