thats changed now the criminals on government swat teams wear black ski masks to conceal their id from the citizens as they break into homes, seize property, and do other outrages things.
its interesting that while government thugs wear masks these days the government wont let its citizens wear masks.
while i see the KKK as nothing more then a bunch of hatefull bigots the government should allow them the same rights as other citizens. the government lets children wear masks every halloween, so why should the government keep these bigoted jerks from wearing masks? i see no reason.
tucson citizen
sat, october 23, 1999
NYC can ban KKK's hoods at march
The Associated Press
NEW YORK - The city succeed ed in unmasking the Ku Klux Klan for a weekend rally when a federal appeals court ruled that it could re fuse to permit the event if partici pants insisted on wearing their masks.
Yesterday's ruling would not stop the KKK, which planned to go ahead with today's rally without masks, said Arthur Eisenberg, a lawyer for the New York Civil LibUnion.
City officials had agreed to allow the rally only if Klan members went without their traditional hooded white masks.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the city, saying it is enforcing a law, not discriminating against the group's message.
The NYCLU sued the city on behalf of the Church of the American Knights - a branch of the KKK accusing the city of violating the group's First Amendment rights.
Norman Siegel, executive director of the civil liberties group, said he was preparing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. He called yesterday's ruling a "momentary setback for the First Amendment," which he said should protect even anonymous, hateful speech.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani declared the decision a "victory for decency."
Yesterday's ruling came one day after two federal judges ruled in favor of allpwing masks to protect KKK members who claimed to have been attacked and their homes burned. The masks were not being used solely to strike fear into others but also to protect those speaking out, the judges said.
The city cited an 1845 law that bars people from congregating in masks or disguises except for authorized events, such as masquerades.