Man Arrested for Wearing Grinch Mask

[Tony]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050526/D8AAUV9G0.html ...full article

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) - City and county attorneys are defending Wheeling police who arrested a man for wearing a Grinch mask while walking along a city street.

Norman Eugene Gray, 42, was arrested Tuesday. He was arraigned and released on a personal recognizance bond.

Officers saw Gray about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, told him to take the mask off and not put it on again. Gray removed it and asked why he could not wear it, according to Wheeling police reports. Officers told him wearing masks in public is illegal.

Gray said he felt he had a right to wear it and said it was not illegal. He put the mask back on and was arrested. The mask was confiscated.

Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth and Ohio County Prosecutor Scott Smith said masks as well as dark window tinting in vehicles can pose a safety hazard to law enforcement officers and hinder efforts to identify criminal suspects.




Looks like another case of giving up freedom for security.

[Upchurch]

Traditional Halloween masks, safety gear used in occupations, theatrical productions, civil defense or protection from bad weather also are legal.A Grinch mask would not be considered a traditional Halloween mask?

Granted, the Grinch is usually associated with Christmas, but there were non-Christmas Grinch stories out there, IIRC. Something about meeting that Cat in the Hat.

[Mycroft]

"Gray said he felt he had a right to wear it and said it was not illegal. He put the mask back on and was arrested. The mask was confiscated."

Sometimes your feelings don't count in deciding what is and isn't legal. :)

[Cain]

First they take away masks, next they put us in concentration camps.

Apparently there were some robberies committed in Illinois and the offenders were wearing Darth Vader helmets. I bet few in Los Angeles would oppose a law saying you're not allowed to walk around public wearing a ski mask (because it can be construed as threatening). I bet it's a different story mountain towns, community norms and all of that.

Anyway, if I was lame enough to wear Grinch mask and the cops took me aside, I would make an uber-dramatic statement about the "masks" they have on.

[TragicMonkey]

I didn't think that kind of law was rare. I was under the impression that most cities outlaw concealing the face in public, except for religious reasons, holiday things, performance art, parades, weather, medical stuff, etc.

I don't see how this is really that burdensome on civil rights.

[Mosquito]

Originally posted by TragicMonkey
I didn't think that kind of law was rare. I was under the impression that most cities outlaw concealing the face in public, except for religious reasons, holiday things, performance art, parades, weather, medical stuff, etc.

I don't see how this is really that burdensome on civil rights.

But if members of the Monkeys Are Great religion can wear monkey masks in public at all times (for religious reasons), why can't non-members?*

How to defend treating people differently based on their religious preferences/artistic preferences etc. without being discriminatory?


Mosquito (against laws making exceptions for religion(s))

* Aside from the security of non-members when members attack, that is.

[The idea]

Suppose he had a mask made based on his own face and then he had plastic surgery to look like the Grinch. Then would he not be permitted to wear the "original face" mask while walking along a city street?

[Mycroft]

Originally posted by The idea
Suppose he had a mask made based on his own face and then he had plastic surgery to look like the Grinch. Then would he not be permitted to wear the "original face" mask while walking along a city street?

What if the man was William Shatner and he was wearing a Captain Kirk mask?

[demon]

I hope "Skeptic" was on hand incase the Grinch mask had slipped.

[varwoche]

Originally posted by Mycroft
What if the man was William Shatner and he was wearing a Captain Kirk mask? :D

[Ed]

hinder efforts to identify criminal suspects.

It seems to me that finding a Grinch is a hell of a lot easier than finding a human.

[jj]

One wonders what we don't know here.

[gnome]

Is there a reason he couldn't just say, "My religious beliefs require me to wear the Grinch mask at this time" and be done with it?

[Ed]

Originally posted by gnome
Is there a reason he couldn't just say, "My religious beliefs require me to wear the Grinch mask at this time" and be done with it?

or say "I am a member of a protected class and you f!ck with me at your peril."

[webfusion]

What's a grinch?

[Lisa Simpson]

Originally posted by webfusion
What's a grinch?

From the Dr. Seuss classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and later an animated special by the greatest animation director of all time, Chuck Jones.

http://img284.echo.cx/img284/4622/grinch3ni.jpg

[The Fool]

what about face painting?....this could be a good way to get rid of those annoying street theater mime acts.

[asthmatic camel]

Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth should be arrested for using such a silly name in public.

[Sushi]

Originally posted by TragicMonkey

I don't see how this is really that burdensome on civil rights.

A typical sentiment here, it seems-- if a particular right doesn't really effect you, it's OK to abolish it.

[TragicMonkey]

Originally posted by Sushi
A typical sentiment here, it seems-- if a particular right doesn't really effect you, it's OK to abolish it.

Yeah, not letting people conceal their faces in public is going to lead us straight to a new Soviet Union.

The point of such laws is to make committing crimes more difficult. Do you think it's unreasonable that it's against the law to conceal your license plate? The point of that is to make it more difficult to commit crimes as well.

[gnome]

Originally posted by TragicMonkey
Yeah, not letting people conceal their faces in public is going to lead us straight to a new Soviet Union.

The point of such laws is to make committing crimes more difficult. Do you think it's unreasonable that it's against the law to conceal your license plate? The point of that is to make it more difficult to commit crimes as well.

The biggest problem I have with this is the exception for religious reasons. That puts the government in the business of deciding how "legitimate" my claimed religion is. I don't want them anywhere near that.

Why shouldn't anything allowed for religious reasons, be allowed for whatever reason? And if you can't, maybe an exception shouldn't be made for the religious either.

[kimiko]

So, would decorative allergy masks like these be legal?

http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1048962758603_2003/04/01/snap_masks,0.jpg

[TragicMonkey]

Originally posted by kimiko
So, would decorative allergy masks like these be legal?


I don't know, but they are a bit frightening. I like monkeys, but even I'm not certain I'd want to breathe through one.

[Mephisto]

Originally posted by kimiko
So, would decorative allergy masks like these be legal?

http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1048962758603_2003/04/01/snap_masks,0.jpg

Yes, but only if the wearer carries proof of his/her alleged allergies and doesn't wear it into a convenience store while carrying a handgun.

[Sushi]

Originally posted by TragicMonkey
Yeah, not letting people conceal their faces in public is going to lead us straight to a new Soviet Union.

The point of such laws is to make committing crimes more difficult. Do you think it's unreasonable that it's against the law to conceal your license plate? The point of that is to make it more difficult to commit crimes as well.

Another popular sentiment here: "Oh, that's just a very small right, let's just infringe on that and bring about miles of smiles!"

Why don't we just let Big Brother watch us through our television, then? Crime rate will reduce DRAMATICALLY!

What if kids want to play Star Wars in the park? Better shackle 'em up in the name of Democracy! What if you're fooling around with your friends or perhaps lover and put a bandana over your face pretending to be Jessie James? BOOK 'EM, LARRY!

Honestly, if someone is going to rob a bank, they are putting on a mask whether it's legal or not.

I can't say I can think of a situation where I'd have a mask on, but often these situations just evolve, usually evolving from humor.

Hell, what if someone just wants to be zany and try something different?

[TragicMonkey]

Originally posted by Sushi
Honestly, if someone is going to rob a bank, they are putting on a mask whether it's legal or not.

Which is how you can tell that someone's robbing, about to rob, or has just finished robbing the bank. Which is the point of such laws.

[gnome]

Originally posted by TragicMonkey
Which is how you can tell that someone's robbing, about to rob, or has just finished robbing the bank. Which is the point of such laws.

Are masks really a big problem in identifying robbers anymore? With all the security cameras and other evidence they can gather... are lots of people getting away with it because they wore masks?

I'm not exactly being sarcastic--for all I know, this could be true.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Anti-mask laws have been around a long time. The original purpose was to suppress the Ku Klux Klan.

[Art Vandelay]

HEYBARTWOULDYOULIKETOSEEMYNEWCHAINSAWANDHOCKEYMASK ?

What? Oh, right. Sideshow Bob. What was I thinking.