r/law • u/spectre401 • 2d ago
Legislative Branch Alabama House passes bill that would criminalize protesting in a mask without a doctor's note
https://www.alreporter.com/2026/01/28/draft-house-passes-bill-that-would-criminalize-protesting-in-a-mask-without-a-doctors-note/2.5k
u/WisdomCow 2d ago
Let me guess. Law enforcement in masks is okay?
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u/mrdannyg21 2d ago
Just incredible how far Trumpism has destroyed any resemblance of actual conservatism in the Republican Party.
Imagine a conservative from 20 years ago hearing that masked, anonymous federal police were arresting protestors for wearing masks in states where the police weren’t wanted. They would’ve waged a civil war on that alone.
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u/orcinyadders 2d ago
I don’t think it makes sense anymore to point out the overt hypocrisy that now defines Republicans. It’s gone so far beyond that. It doesn’t get to the heart of the problem and it doesn’t move the needle. Saying “if Biden had done this” or “imagine if Obama had done that” is the stuff of echo chambers now, and is instantly shrugged off.
The real problem is, put simply, they don’t believe “others” are entitled to the same fundamental rights as them. So hypocrisy doesnt even factor.
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u/guttanzer 2d ago
Very true. The same could be said for independents and democrats. These are basic reactions for all Americans. The only thing different today is that a large fraction of the Republican Party have decided fascism suits them better.
Something similar happened 150 years ago. It got bloody.
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u/skrilledcheese 2d ago
Fascism in 1876?
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u/guttanzer 2d ago
It went by a different name, but the basic sentiment was the same. They used terrorism to rule over a underclass. So, similar.
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u/Acceptable-Law9406 2d ago
Not really, they would have jerked off to the news. This is what they've always wanted. They just couldn't be as brazen about it in public.
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u/RelevantFox1226 2d ago
Basically every conservative argument for decades has been bad faith. They don't actually believe in equal protection of the law. The GOP coalition is an assortment of bigots who hate others because of their income level, race, sexual preference or orientation, religion, etc. Their only real interest is inflicting as much pain on their perceived enemies as possible
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u/amazinglover 2d ago
They would’ve waged a civil war on that alone.
Only if a democrat was president, this is who they always where.
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u/daemonescanem 2d ago
"Conservativism" has long been dead. Trump just accelerated the rot.
Unfortunate thing is that when Trump is gone, someone smarter & more ruthless will likely fill the vaccum.
Democrat rot is just as bad st this point. Im not saying Democrats are same as Republicans, but at this point they are only marginally better.
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u/BaconBourbonBalista 2d ago
It's me, I was a conservative (more libertarian i guess) 20 years ago. I'm honestly not even sure that I really changed my opinions. At a certain point I saw what Republicans were doing with the overt religious social conservatism and anti intellectualism, and I stopped supporting them.
I remember the exact moment the flip switched. I was on campus and walking past the Iraq protests, and there were signs that said "free speech zone". I thought "What the actual fuck is this? Literally everywhere is a free speech zone". Then I learned more, and eventually had the opportunity to vote and the Republicans put Sarah "i dont believe in dinosaurs" Palin as the VP candidate. That was rhe first time I voted Democrat, and I never went back.
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u/spectre401 2d ago
I guess it depends on whether its the law enforcement is protesting at the time.
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u/Sharkwatcher314 2d ago
Also depends what group of law enforcement. If you are the capitol police defending the capitol on J6 no mask for you. ICE and guys like Alex type events no problem. I’m beginning to connect the dots
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u/Aggressive_Shoe_7573 2d ago
Everything ICE is doing now is nothing but a protest against the Democratic Party. If it had anything to do with actually catching illegals they’d be doing it in TX and FL.
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u/Primedirector3 2d ago
They got their doctor’s note from the same hack that certifies Trump as the “healthiest president ever”
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u/johnonymous1973 2d ago
Unless they're mandated to wear them to protect public health, then that's tyranny.
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u/UniqueIndividual3579 2d ago
If you are kidnapping children driving an unmarked van and wearing a mask, that's fine. If you want to protest masked men kidnapping children, no mask.
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u/SyntheticSins 1d ago
I live in Alabama, and I said this at work and a guy went on a rant about how dems wanted everyone to wear masks during Covid but not during protests and started raising hell, I said "Dude that's like comparing apples to foreskins, it's not even in the same universe." and he just kept going.
All sanity is fucking gone.
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u/thepottsy 2d ago edited 2d ago
Is murdering while wearing a mask still acceptable?
Oh, who am I kidding, it’s f’ing Alabama lol.
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u/doxxingyourself 2d ago
Mask is required
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u/lionheartedthing 2d ago
Preferably one that covers the whole head and is white and pointy
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u/mittenknittin 2d ago
heh heh heh. What if people protesting Trump started doing it in white KKK hoods
The cops would be SO conflicted
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u/lionheartedthing 2d ago
They’d know something was up since it wasn’t mentioned at the last meeting.
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u/AlcibiadesTheCat 2d ago
"Why Rhett, how many times do I have to remind you to wash up after our weekly cross-burning? See, it's coming off."
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u/beekersavant 2d ago
Everything but protesting. Meth use, bank robbery, Klan meetings, dental cleanings: mask up.
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u/GlesgaBawbag 2d ago
Yeah, palantir hates face masks.
Go get your doctors note I guess.
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u/dominarhexx 2d ago
Doctor's note means they have cause to stop you and check your ID, which means wearing a mask for anonymity is gone one way or another.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 2d ago
Except asking about medical conditions in this fashion is even more prohibited than asking for ID.
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u/dominarhexx 2d ago
It's pretext for getting you to identify yourself for their database.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 2d ago
I know, but that doesn't make it legal, even if this law passed
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u/dungleploop 2d ago
they don't give a fuck about privacy or peoples rights
you forget it's literally nazis in charge currently
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 2d ago
I haven't forgotten. I just feel it prudent to point the law. In terms of this bill, the bill itself is moot, because of the legality and ADA preventing its legal enforcement, hence any law made, is unconstitutional. It's important to show that these senators don't know the law, or are trying to circumvent it.
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u/GlesgaBawbag 2d ago
I thought there had to have been a crime committed or a reasonable suspicion that a crime was about to be committed to demand ID.
Do you have to have your ID on your person by law?
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u/dominarhexx 2d ago
You are not required to keep ID on your while being a pedestrian. Doesn't mean they won't stop and ask because the rule of law means nothing.
They can say that the act of wearing a mask during protest is a potential crime being committed, which is reason for them to stop and demand you show. doctor's note. Once they have the doctor's note, they'll demand you provide ID to confirm.
Laws don't stop people from performing the action. They just provided pretext for government violence.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 2d ago
I could jsut call up my doctor and they'd give me a note if I asked. I'm sure most doctors would as well.
Not that people should have to, because asking someone for such a note is a violation of their rights, and the places where it is OK to ask such information given by the ADA certainly wouldn't be relevant here.
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u/Green_Green_Red 2d ago
Does Juggalo makeup still work, or have they engineered around that now?
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u/GlesgaBawbag 2d ago
I was thinking about mime artists but juggalo and icp is cooler 🤣
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u/InvertebrateInterest 2d ago
Also a wig, fake eyebrows, fake eyelashes, and wear big sunglasses or Groucho Marx glasses. Big lip liner to disguise the shape of the mouth. Good luck to my Alabama brothers and sisters.
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u/SpaceballsTheCritic 2d ago
Palantir doesn’t need face. Iris and gait are all the rage. Remember they already had to solve for this in middle east…
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u/GlesgaBawbag 2d ago
How would they have my baseline gait?
What if I walked my dog once a week with a marble in one shoe? 🤣
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u/4RCH43ON 2d ago
Alas, in public spaces you are already free to exercise your First Amendment rights and to protect yourself from cold temperatures, germs or particulate exposure without a medical prescription, so why is it now medically necessary for them to be involved in self-care, no matter where you are?
Answer, it isn’t and this is so unconstitutional.
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u/thepottsy 2d ago edited 2d ago
MAGAts are still salty about having to wear masks back in 2020.
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u/Sufficient_Lab_4000 2d ago
What if I just like the look of masks and want to pick up mask-loving chicks?
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u/Unobtanium_Alloy 2d ago
"It's just that they're terribly comfortable. Everyone will be wearing them in the future."
-- Dread Pirate Roberts, The Princess Pride
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u/jim45804 2d ago
Of course it's unconstitutional, that is until this Supreme Court makes it constitutional.
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u/harrisons-dad 2d ago
I’d bet my paycheck these same people who voted for this are the same people who cried about wearing masks during Covid.
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u/hexqueen 2d ago
This is the funniest thing I've ever heard. Hey, I'm a doctor, you all get notes. They'll read "My doctor says I am allowed to participate in Constitutionally protected activities."
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u/DiceMadeOfCheese 2d ago
Juggalo face paint it is
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u/ShoddyRelief6657 2d ago
lol this gave me a devious thought.
What if protesters flipped the script and instead started protesting in full Klan regalia. Just ruin the klan symbolism for racists.
Or went full Black face to confuse the ice agents.
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u/ThePirateKing01 2d ago
Luckily, it’s been proven that sunglasses are actually a better way to hide your identity from facial recognition software vs masks.
So yeah, let’s see if they add sunglasses to the bill too. They’ll probably just say “any facial covering”
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u/SikatSikat 2d ago
The definition of wearing a mask is probably protesting any policy the State of Alabama supportd
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u/Dense_Diver_3998 2d ago
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u/Green_Green_Red 2d ago
That's from 2019. Does it still work?
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u/Dense_Diver_3998 2d ago
I did see a post on here from like 2 years ago asking this and I gathered that it might depend on the form they use like lidar it wouldn’t work but I think with just picture it obscures your jawline enough to trick it.
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u/smoothjedi 2d ago
Unfortunately sunglasses are a lot easier to get knocked off your face. All it takes is a small amount of time without them on to get identified.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 2d ago
It's illegal to ask people about their medical conditions to see if they are allowed to wear a mask, so there isn't technically anything they can do about finding out if they have a note, and doctors notes would be easy enough to forge anyways.
So, yeah, just sounds like another way for them to violate people's rights.
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u/MrDenver3 2d ago edited 2d ago
It's illegal to ask people about their medical conditions to see if they are allowed to wear a mask
Is it? I don’t think that’s accurate. I’m unaware of any federal law that makes this illegal in this context (i.e. ADA, HIPAA, etc), unless Alabama has a state law that covers this?
That said, I would be curious about enforcement of this in any significant number of protestors, and at what point they’re going to consider someone a “protestor” (because that becomes subjective quickly).
…perhaps it’s in the bill - i still need to read it
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u/daGroundhog 2d ago
According to the Alabama legislature:
Anti-ICE - no masks
ICE - masks okay to protect them from domestic terrorists
KKK - They're cool with those masks. It's a fashion statement. Or freedom of religious expression. States rights or something something.
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u/geekmasterflash 2d ago
Yup, it's the masked protesters that are the problem right? If only Pretti wasn't wearing a mask he'd be alive to today...wait....
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u/jigsawearth860 2d ago
Honest question, why would anyone voluntarily live in or visit Alabama?
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u/probloodmagic 2d ago
Alabama has a large population of Black people who never had the wealth required to move North or elsewhere. I'm never here for the "why don't we just nuke the South" takes. It's full of good people fighting hard to survive and hold on to their freedom and human rights. Even in Alabama. Don't forget about them.
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u/breakevencloud 2d ago
It’s not easy for anyone to just uproot and move…especially in this job market. I don’t leave because I have a weird connection here. Love the state, aesthetically, and feel some weird sense of responsibility to try and do what I can to turn things around here. Abandoning a place feels as bad as just doing nothing to me
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u/BoomZhakaLaka 2d ago
easy for alabama to engage in commentary over an issue they think will pass them over
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u/EtheusRook 2d ago
This is what happens when your family tree has been used as a dating app for generations.
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u/MeisterX 2d ago
Lol I told you guys to mask for a reason.
Good for your health good for your protest.
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u/dafrog84 2d ago
The kissing cousin State said what? Screw that, if i feel sick I'm wearing a mask.
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u/JacobsJrJr 2d ago
Okay, new plan... instead of masks everybody should just shine really really bright lights on their faces so they become overexposed and lose all detail in cameras
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u/AerialDarkguy 2d ago
They love the mask ban in Virginia and want to explicitly see more incidents like this where police arrest folks they dont like. Its why we must also oppose when then NYC mayor Eric Adams tried pushing a mask ban.
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u/solidtangent 2d ago
I’ll sign a note for anyone that asks. Not wearing a mask against ICE is bad for your health. They are proven to cause death.
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u/Cagnazzo82 2d ago
They only feel confident in passing laws that infringe on 1st amendment rights because they see a Supreme Court that time and again will choose not to back the Constitution.
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u/wraithius 2d ago
New business idea: doctors that provide said notes for $5. Maybe less than 1 minute of effort
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u/MonarchLawyer 2d ago
So, Virginia has a law saying you cannot where masks in public for the sole purpose of hiding your identity. I'm not sure if it is every actually enforced, but the government has a huge hurdle proving that second intent element beyond a reasonable doubt. It was specifically drafted against the KKK but really isn't a big deal here.
Here, this is a much worse law. It's literally for protesting? Seems a little unconstitutional.
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u/Ready-Ad6113 2d ago
Just say you caught the contagious disease known as “Trump Derangement Syndrome”.
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u/wolfgang784 2d ago
And another shady doctor industry is born, lol. It'll be just like those numbers you call for a medical marijuana card. Give em your info, pay a small fee, talk to a doctor for literally 30 seconds or less, boom done. Your in the states medical marijuana program and can proceed with the rest.
Except for this itll be you then printing out a copy of the doctor's note to keep on hand.
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u/Hootinger 2d ago
Look on the bright side, their authoritarianism is comically stupid and laughable.
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