[§ 18.2-422"]Prohibition of wearing of masks in certain places; exceptions.
It shall be unlawful for any person over 16 years of age to, with the intent to conceal his identity, wear any mask, hood or other device whereby a substantial portion of the face is hidden or covered so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, to be or appear in any public place, or upon any private property in this Commonwealth without first having obtained from the owner or tenant thereof consent to do so in writing. However, the provisions of this section shall not apply to persons (i) wearing traditional holiday costumes; (ii) engaged in professions, trades, employment or other activities and wearing protective masks which are deemed necessary for the physical safety of the wearer or other persons; (iii) engaged in any bona fide theatrical production or masquerade ball; or (iv) wearing a mask, hood or other device for bona fide medical reasons upon (a) the advice of a licensed physician or osteopath and carrying on his person an affidavit from the physician or osteopath specifying the medical necessity for wearing the device and the date on which the wearing of the device will no longer be necessary and providing a brief description of the device, or (b) the declaration of a disaster or state of emergency by the Governor in response to a public health emergency where the emergency declaration expressly waives this section, defines the mask appropriate for the emergency, and provides for the duration of the waiver. The violation of any provisions of this section is a Class 6 felony.](http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter9/section18.2-422/)
Very interesting–thanks for the cite! Is clown makeup a mask?
That’s one less incredibly stupid problem that magellan’s proposal has, anyway. I doubt the felony mask prohibition could stand up to a court challenge in a case in which someone is lurking while wearing a scary clown outfit, though. I wonder if there are court cases on the subject.
Here’s another cite, for Georgia. Note one of the exceptions:
If the person claimed they were an artist exploring clowning, that seems like a way to qualify under the “trade” exception.
According to our Chief of Police, full clown (zombie, mime, whatever) makeup falls under “or other device.” If you can’t tell who the person is, this law can be applied.
ETA: she also said that if they had caught the person, they would have cited this law as well as trespassing and (IIRC) meanacing as reason for arrest.
Yes, because you Googled what I did at first about the clowns. And you know that no one has been actually convicted yet.
Still, I have arrests. Every arrest is referenced to a legit news source. While some of them were doing other things, and some are hoaxes, you’ll find several that were arrested just for terrorizing people in a clown mask.
These are people dressing up like clowns to deliberately cause havok. They aren’t some people wearing clown costumes who just happened to be walking about. They aren’t actual clowns doing their legitimate job.
It’s not the big deal that the OP makes it out to be, but pretending like it’s absolutely nothing is just as idiotic.
If anyone is emotionally upset over a specific menacing clown incident, I fully understand; some folks already have a problem with clowns and this sort of intimidation is creepy and disturbing to most of us.
If someone is similarly exercised over the menacing clown wave which threatens to inundate the [English-speaking, cyber-connected] world, I would humbly suggest that they go lie down until this passes. And have a nice session with a sober, rational and licensed emotional counselor.
In certain places=everywhere that isn’t covered by the “exceptions” clause.
A clown costume is absolutely a traditional Halloween costume, but one does not expect to see someone wearing a traditional Halloween costume outside of the traditional Halloween season, or someone wearing a costume acting outside the traditional Halloween “protocol.” Walking through back yards swinging a bat while wearing any kind of costume a month before Halloween isn’t really covered in the trick or treat handbook.
I’m wondering, if the police start arresting these clowns, will they just stuff like 10 of them in the back of a police cruiser? Can they Tazer them, or are they only allowed to squirt them with a giant fake flower? Does popping a balloon doggie count as animal cruelty?
BigT, I never said it wasn’t a problem at all. From what I can tell, it’s a very very very small problem of actual people being jerks, coupled with a very very very large problem of mass hysteria. It’s our nation’s equivalent of a vanishing penis epidemic.
The obvious solution to the “menacing clown problem” is for everyone to look and act like a clown. Most of [del]us[/del]…[del]you[/del]…the bozos outside of the SDMB Community already have this covered, so it’s no big deal.