Media Tip Sheet
New York Governor Kathy Hockle said she was considering a mask ban on the New York subway over concerns about people hiding their faces while committing anti-Semitic crimes, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was considering a similar ban after a fight broke out outside a synagogue on Sunday.
Reporters looking for someone to discuss issues surrounding mask-wearing restrictions should consider Associate Professor of Law Katherine McFarlane, director of the Disability Law and Policy Program at Syracuse University School of Law.
To help understand her perspective, Professor MacFarlane said:
“This ban would pose a direct risk to people with disabilities, who need to wear masks to protect against airborne diseases like COVID-19, for example. It is difficult to imagine that a person with a disability would be able to convincingly excuse their mask-wearing to a police officer,” McFarlane said. “Even if an exception to the ban were made for people with disabilities, the ban would force people to disclose disabilities they would rather keep private. And if a police officer doesn’t believe them (as is often the case for people with invisible disabilities), what happens? They get arrested.” To request an interview, please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, Executive Director of Media Relations, at [email protected].
Source link