California’s Mask Ban Law (SB 627), which bans all law enforcement (especially ICE) from wearing masks or any paraphernalia to conceal their identity when actively doing enforcing, will go into effect next year on January 1. Yes—law enforcement may still “cover” their faces in situations that requires them to wear helmets or gas masks, but if they’re not around toxic gases or any dangers, even those accessories would violate SB 627. ICE is definitely the biggest villain here, but I think any law enforcement officer that tries to conceal their identity is dangerous for everybody. Law enforcement officers must be easily identified, and must also be able to face accountability.
A mask strips them of the ability to be identified and of accountability—at this point, they may feel that can do whatever they want. At the same time, without proper identification, law enforcement officers are effectively no different than masked criminals. Who’s to blame anyone for defending themselves against masked maniacs, even if that defense involves using weapons? That’s just asking for trouble. Also, whatever happened to Conservatives wanting no masks? If COVID-19 masks bothered them, surely masked federal law enforcement officers should bother them much more!