RALEIGH, N.C. — The world and the way people move about it has changed in the past four years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most visible ways is the wearing of masks in public.

If the Republican-led North Carolina Senate gets its way, however, people who mask in public could face criminal charges.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Republican-led Senate passed a proposal to remove an exemption to the state's masking law.

  •  It would put people who wear a mask for health purposes in public at risk of being arrested and charged.

  •  Proponents say the move is an effort to stop people from concealing their identities while they break the law at protests or riots.

  • Disability rights advocates say this will put many people across the state in danger.

It’s a move that has people across the state concerned, Tara Muller of Disability Rights North Carolina says.

The law in question is decades old but is back in the spotlight.

“The origins of this law were started way back in the 1950s because of the Ku Klux Klan and efforts to, you know, crack down on secret societies,” Muller said. “So there was this law that said nobody can wear masks to conceal their identities, and then when during the pandemic, when people started wearing masks for health and safety reasons, the General Assembly added that exemption.”

The Senate voted along party lines to revert the law to the pre-pandemic wording, removing that exemption. Sen. Danny Britt said this was brought on by recent events across the state and country.

“This is to try and prevent those individuals who may wear a mask while committing crimes, while being engaged in riots, trying to seek and conceal their identity,” Britt said.

Muller said people in the disability community are concerned that by removing the exemption they will be at risk of arrest.

“We don't know that law enforcement officers will have the time or capacity to get into every single detail when they're, you know, when they're faced with a situation of whether to arrest somebody. Will they have the time to ask what the reasoning is, and should they be asking what the reasoning is?” Muller said.

One Raleigh couple concerned by the move are David and Elizabeth Beam.

Last August, David Beam was diagnosed with lymphoma. Through chemotherapy, it’s gone, but he went through a stem cell transplant that he’s still recovering from.

“During all of the time of the fall, whenever we were out, he had to wear a mask because of chemo. And then after the stem cell transplant, he lost every bit of immunity. It was not suppressed, it was not compromised. It was obliterated,” Elizabeth Beam said.

When they’re in public they both wear masks. It’s a non-negotiable to keep him safe as he works to regain his full health.

If this bill were to become law, his ability to leave their home could end.

“I'm faced with a situation of either not being able to go out for the rest of this year while I get my immunizations, or if I go out, I risk exposing myself, to, to something that I don't have any immunity to. And then last one, if I put on a mask, I risk breaking the law,” David Beam said.

On Wednesday, the House voted in a bipartisan move not to concur with the Senate’s proposal, meaning the bill won't move on to Gov. Roy Cooper. Instead, it will go back for negotiations.

Democrat Sarah Crawford said the current proposal puts the health and safety of communities at risk. She added that there is no exemption for religious face coverings, and that she hopes moving forward that exemption would be added.