This is the problem. It then comes down to police discretion as to whether or not you were “intentionally concealing you identity” - or just happened to not be visible, I have no doubt that the enforcement of this would entail classist and racist shenanigans.
I am still trying to understand why, to so many people, the front of the head tends to be considered so crucial to the idea of “identity”.
since you said “or”, you need to show that it’s already illegal to “intentionally conceal [one’s] identity in a public place by means of a robe, mask, or other disguise.”
Would section B stop all undercover police operations. A female police officer dressed and acting as a prostitute has to be considered, intentionally concealing her identity,right? The only good thing I see is if a GOP senator is charged in a crime he won’t be able to hide his face when being paraded in cuffs.
This looks like statist nonsense. If someone has decided to commit armed robbery, they’ve already passed the threshold for giving two shakes about whether or not they want to break a law about concealing their identity. All this law does is give prosecutors one more tool with which to stack the deck against defendants, and it gives police an excuse to harass people.
Oklahoma has already had anti-mask laws before, and employed them against the Klan. In fact the existing law 21 OS 1301 was an anti-Klan measure. It could be about making video surveillance easier–but the law really should not protect poor camera placement.
This could be aimed at Anonymous–but quite frankly Oklahoma doesn’t have the population or public transit required for mass protests. Clearly our State House/Senate is either insane or just very bored. The cretin Randy Terril, who later went to jail for corruption, wanted to make it a felony to give someone a ride in your car if they were not a legal resident.
That phrase right there seems to leave interpretation of a possible suspect’s motives up to a police officer. They could easily consider your wearing of any “disguise” as a sign that you intended to intimidate members of the public. And even if you’re not charged with this offense, the fact that it is a possible offense for which a police officer would have a law supporting their “investigation” of your behavior and identity makes this a tool for police harassment.
And the thing that seems obvious to me is the specific omission of participating in protests as an exception. If you want to participate in protests, the government wants to know your identity. And the latest significant protests in this country have been perceivedly “liberal” Occupy protests and people of color and their allies protesting government-sanctioned violence by police officers. What a coincidence…
Somehow I don’t think he thought that out but obviously it includes berkas.
So the Klan goes untouched by the new law. It seems cops who cover their faces at demonstrations are also not held accountable to the same laws as the public (protesters).
What about the kigurumi that were recently featured on BB?
Or for that matter, any sort of cosplay? And won’t someone think of the furries? Maybe they can claim they’re just mascots gone wild.
Watch out Halloween!
I look forward to the first pictures of the full-facial colander sect of Pastafarianism.
Look GOP I cover my face LOL
He was looking at your eyes.
I take it it doesn’t get particularly cold there?
It’s 9 degrees F here right now… I’m gonna cover my fucking face.
The entire bill is only 2 pages, double-spaced in Courier, yet one of the exceptions on the very short list is “minstrel troupes”. Not Anonymous, or Occupy, or cosplay, or anything from the 21st century. In other words, that form of “entertainment” is apparently still current in Oklahoma today.
“It’s OK! We’re only pretending to be black people!”
If You’re Ever In Oklahoma: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jjcale/ifyoureeverinoklahoma.html
Good listen in college in 1973…
This bill is also transphobic as written. Not everyone can get a medical diagnosis for gender dysphoria, especially poor people. Expect to see more trans people being harrased by the police for prostitution.
It’s not like every trans person has gender dysphoria anyway.
I think there also has to be intent to conceal one’s identity. Many toupee wearers self-identify as having scalps chock-full of youthful hair.
Also: rain ponchos and scarves. I don’t know if Oklahoma weather ever gets very cold but it does; not being able to bury your head inside knit cap, scarf and earmuffs will suck.
