Nassau Standard

New York State Senator Steve Rhoads, alongside Assemblymen Ed Ra and John Mikulin, held a press conference urging Governor Kathy Hochul to reconvene the legislature to pass Senate Bill S9194/Assembly Bill A10043. The proposed legislation aims to address public safety concerns by establishing new offenses related to the deceptive wearing of masks.

"The stabbing incident after the Academy Charter School graduation ceremony in broad daylight in the heart of the Hofstra campus by six masked perpetrators highlights the urgency of passing my bill, S.9194/A.10043," said Senator Rhoads. "This legislation, which was previously New York law for 175 years, aims to restore common sense and hold accountable those who wear masks to conceal their identity while engaging in menacing, terrorizing and acts of physical violence."

Assemblyman Ed Ra emphasized the balance between First Amendment rights and public safety: "My colleague from Staten Island, Assemblyman Mike Reilly, carried the bill in the Assembly; I am a co-sponsor of it and it’s fairly straightforward. Ensuring the safety of our community is always a priority."

Assemblyman John Mikulin underscored the importance of prioritizing safety: "Safety must be our number one priority. We have seen a decrease in safety; we have seen people try to conceal themselves in the event of committing a crime- we must stop them. This bill does just that."

Assemblyman Keith P. Brown voiced his support for holding accountable those who disrupt or commit violent acts during public gatherings: "Everyone throughout our state and country has the right to peacefully protest in response to issues they care about, but keeping everyone safe during active protests needs to be a top priority."

Senator Rhoads concluded by criticizing current legislative leadership: "Democrats who control all levers of power in our State government continue to fail the people of our district. We are less safe and our quality of life is crumbling."

The proposed legislation seeks to amend New York State law by introducing offenses for deceptive wearing of masks and aggravated deceptive wearing of masks.