The Press of Atlantic City – Ocean City raises, rejects banning masks on the Boardwalk – Bill Barlow Jun 17, 2024 Even in the discussion phase, Campbell said, the ordinance was to include exemptions for religious practice and health concerns. Some people continue to wear masks in crowds, and some people with compromised immune systems or other medical conditions always will. Campbell compared the proposed ordinance with a ban on backpacks on the beach and Boardwalk after 8 p.m., a move he supported. Where there have been issues with juveniles, he said, many carried fireworks, alcohol or illegal drugs in backpacks. “Whatever they had with them, the contents were in the backpack,” he said. Philadelphia had approved a ban on masks, he said, but that is not being enforced. In New York, there was a state ban on masks for more than a century, repealed during the pandemic. There has been discussion of reenacting that ban. Levchuk said he spoke with other members of council after some merchants raised the possibility of banning face coverings. “It seemed worth bringing it to the administration,” he said, specifically so that the matter could be researched. He said he would not push for an ordinance that would create hardships for the police or would raise questions of how it could be enforced.
Frankly the Wildwood backpack ban seems ableist to me. I remember going to Lollapalooza in 1992 and in our carpool group was a diabetic who had to carry a little backpack with supplies bigger than 8 inches.
Why can’t they find another way to deter crime for pity’s sake? In a time of security cameras everywhere, advanced monitoring capabilities, modern technology – why is it so much harder to deter or otherwise deal with juvenile delinquents and vandals than in the past, that we need all these authoritarian restrictions on your person?