1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

House Bill 1081, the “Unmask Hate Act,” ostensibly makes it a crime to threaten someone while wearing a mask. But a read-through of the bill makes it painfully obvious that it can be applied as a nuisance charge to anything anyone does while wearing a mask. Someone can call the police and claim “those people rallying over there with signs wearing masks were threatening me” even though a lot of people at protests and political events wear masks to avoid catching airborne diseases or giving them to other people. Lots of people were wearing masks when visiting their state legislators on Lobby Day! Could I get arrested under this new law if someone doesn’t like what I’m saying while masked and claims that I threatened them? All the behavior described in that bill is ALREADY illegal except for mask-wearing, which is what it really cracks down on. Support our right to protect our health by masking! Vote no on HB 1081!