NC House rejects Senate proposal to ban masking for public health as GOP rift over masks grows

A bipartisan alliance of Republicans and Democrats in the state House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a proposal to repeal the law that allows North Carolinians to wear face masks in public for health reasons.

The vote wasn't formally recorded, so there's no way of telling how individual lawmakers voted. And while some Republican members could be heard voicing their votes to continue with the plan to ban mask-wearing, House Speaker Tim Moore said he heard more support for blocking that plan.

Rep. Erin Pare, R-Wake, has led the charge among Republicans to keep the public health exception on the books. She didn't make a speech during the House debate Wednesday, but on Monday in an interview with WRAL she explained her stance.

"If I have a cancer patient who wants to go to the drugstore, and is concerned about picking something up, they have every right in the world to put a mask on," she said. "No one should even question that."

Rep. Sarah Crawford, D-Wake, seconded Pare's motion to reject the plan on Wednesday. There has been a massive outpouring of emails and phone calls to state lawmakers opposing the idea, and she said the people who took time out of their days to do that deserve credit.

"It's critically important to say thank you to the people all across the state who emailed our offices ... and forced us to reconsider what the Senate did," Crawford said.

With the House's rejection, the bill is now in legislative limbo. A small group of Republicans from each chamber will likely soon be named to meet in private to hash out details that both chambers can agree on. Moore told reporters after the vote Wednesday he had no idea what those details might be — except that his chamber is serious about keeping the public health exception in the law.

"The question is striking the balance to make sure it doesn’t go so far that you are limiting the ability of someone wearing a mask and not breaking the law," Moore said.

Other parts of the bill would increase civil and criminal penalties against protesters who block roads during demonstrations, and raise criminal penalties against anyone who commits a crime while wearing a mask. Republicans, and some Democrats, have indicated they still support some or all of those changes.

Spokespeople for Senate leader Phil Berger's office have not responded to requests for comment on the House Republicans' public opposition to Senate Republicans' mask proposal. But on Wednesday one top Republican who has been a vocal supporter of repealing the public health exception, Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Burke, said he has been telling constituents that it might be changed.

He indicated that he still believes the repeal is being over-exaggerated, but acknowledged that the proposal has given political ammunition to the other side in a heated election year: "I do believe that before its final passage, HB 237 will most likely be clarified so that political groups can't misconstrue the bill and scare our citizens for fundraising purposes and political gain."