Parliament passes motion to ban face masks in public following robberies

Wearing face coverings in public could become outlawed following a unanimous vote by MPs to consider legislation on the issue.

A Private Member’s Motion brought by Opposition Deputy Leader and MP for George Town Central Kenneth Bryan in Parliament called for government to restrict all non-medical masks and head coverings in all public and commercial spaces, including shops and neighbourhoods.

Masks would be allowed only for health conditions and for people who used them at work, such as gardeners and construction workers, but wearing them would only be permitted in the workplace itself.

Rise in robberies

Introducing the debate, Bryan said that the issue was an “urgent national necessity”, saying, “the Cayman Islands has recently experienced, particularly around the Christmas period, a concerning surge in armed robberies. We are seeing a total masking culture where perpetrators utilise full head and facial covering to hide their identity. This has created a climate of fear that touches every district across all three islands.”

He added, “When a person can walk into a commercial establishment with their entire head and facial structure concealed without question, we have a security gap that is being exploited.”

Bryan reminded MPs that the Commissioner of Police Kurt Walton had said in Finance Committee that head coverings hampered national surveillance and facial recognition technology. Bryan added, “We are effectively asking the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service to fight crime with one hand tied behind their back.”

Premier André Ebanks spoke in favour of the motion, saying, “Mask-wearing is not us.  Outside of if you’re doing it for some sort of sporting activity, which is rare, it’s just not us. And when you walk into a facility, it’s jarring.”

He said that people are understandably reluctant to engage with people wearing face masks and said the government supported the notion, but in doing so, would have to consider issues such as human rights and religious face coverings.

“The country is rejecting full-face covering, unless you have some legitimate ground, because we do not feel safe,” he said.

Deputy Premier and Tourism Minister Gary Rutty also welcomed the motion and said it was “long overdue”, adding, “We need not only to make our people feel safe, but our visitors who come to our shores, we need to make sure that they’re protected and they feel safe.”

Masked men

Planning Minister Jay Ebanks recalled that, not long after Parliament met in December, a nearby store was robbed by men wearing masks in broad daylight.

“We had a robbery in town where two men walk right in, masked up, with a T-shirt on their face,” he said. “If we actually had this in place, those two men might not be able to walk down the road from wherever they were coming from as normal people, because everybody probably didn’t pay them no mind because they had on a mask as everybody is so used to seeing it, until they decide to do a robbery. But now this will be able to stop.”

Concluding the debate, Bryan said that he often felt uneasy in those situations and would think, “Is there something serious about to happen with a person fully covered and the only thing I see is their eyes like a ninja in the middle of the broad day next to a jewellery store? It’s just not normal.

“Now, you may feel, OK, I’m just covering myself up. It’s hot, I just came from work or I was just cutting some lawn, whatever. Unfortunately, your perceived comfort is reducing the quality of life for everybody else. So, this is not an attack on you. You’re just going to have to adjust.”

The motion was passed unanimously and it is now up to government to decide whether the proposals are moved into the legislative timetable.