Protesters would be banned from wearing face masks under city’s proposed law

Identity-concealing face masks and potential weapons such as sticks, baseball bats and pepper spray could be outlawed at public gatherings under a new ordinance approved in Carlsbad, a response to the recent passionate political protests across the nation.

The temporary restrictions could be applied on a case-by-case basis if Carlsbad authorities suspect there is the possibility of violence at a public event. The ordinance was initially approved June 12 and, if approved after a second reading Tuesday night, would take effect in 30 days.

Carlsbad police proposed the ordinance after reviewing protests that turned violent across the Unites States and talking with other agencies over the last year or so, Capt. Mickey Williams said in a presentation to the City Council.

“It’s about providing a safe environment for the people as they express themselves and assemble,” Williams said. “The police chief can ask the city manager to impose certain regulations to make for a safer protest.”

The new law also allows officers to establish separate gathering areas for people with opposing views on an issue. A violation of the ordinance would be a misdemeanor, which allows police to take a suspect into custody.

The initial reading of the ordinance passed 3-1, with Councilwoman Cori Schumacher opposed and Councilman Mark Packard absent. No residents addressed the council on the issue.

Schumacher said she was concerned about “the chilling effect” that the prohibition of masks could have on people’s freedom of expression.

Deputy City Atty. Beverly Roxas responded that the ordinance is geared toward limiting a person’s ability to conceal their identity and not their freedom of expression.

“The Constitution guarantees the right to speak, but not the conditions under which they speak,” Roxas said, and the importance of public safety outweighs the minimal expressive effect that a mask can have at a demonstration.

Courts generally have upheld restrictions on potential weapons at public events, First Amendment Coalition David Snyder said Monday.

“Governing entities are allowed to regulate with reason, depending on … time, place and manner,” Snyder said. The rules can apply only on public property, and, “They can’t regulate the content of speech.”

The prohibition of masks has less support, he said, but those restrictions also have been upheld.

Carlsbad has seen several contentious issues in recent years. One of the most divisive was a luxury shopping mall that the City Council approved for a site near Interstate 5 on the shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Confrontations that involved heated exchanges occurred at some of the meetings. Voters defeated the project in a special election on Feb. 23, 2016.

Most council members strongly supported the ordinance.

“It’s a make-sense approach,” said Councilman Michael Schumacher, no relation to Cori Schumacher. “If there is a situation where things are getting out of hand, and we know, or we have information ahead of time, that there is going to be a problem, we want to make sure law enforcement has all the tools they need to protect the public.”

He and Councilman Keith Blackburn, a retired Carlsbad police officer, both said people’s behavior is different when they wear a mask.

“I strongly believe that if people cover their identities and their faces, that gives them the confidence to do things that they would otherwise not do … things that are illegal or violent,” Blackburn said.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a similar “temporary area restrictions” law in September.

The county used the law in early January to post restrictions on the southern San Diego County neighborhood of Otay Mesa, when Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen visited the border security wall prototypes.

Guns, knives, baseball bats, ice picks, slingshots, glass bottles, chains and other items “generally considered an implement of riot” were prohibited, according to the fliers posted in the area. The fliers were removed within days.

The Los Angeles City Council agreed in October to draft a law that would prohibit protesters from carrying pepper spray, Tasers, bricks, hammers or improvised shields, but there was no mention of face masks.

The Los Angeles law, if approved, would also ban tiki torches, which were carried by white supremacists in a demonstration that turned fatal last year in Charlottesville, Va.

Diehl writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.