Atlanta's proposed ski mask ban loses support after opposition from residents

ATLANTA - Wearing a ski mask in public will remain legal, at least for now, after a controversial plan failed to move forward in an Atlanta City Council committee on Monday. 

This decision came after Atlanta city leaders received major pushback on the proposed ordinance from community members who argued it could lead to an increase in racial profiling of the city’s Black youth.

"The fact that any one of you took this proposal seriously is pathetic," one resident told members of the City Council.

As discussions about the ban on face coverings began at City Hall on Monday afternoon, opposition to the ordinance was loud during the council’s public safety committee meeting.

"I want to see systemic solutions that keep Atlanta residents safe, and this mask ordinance is not it … If they’re committed to doing a crime, a mask ordinance is not going to stop them from doing that crime," another resident said.

The ordinance proposed by District 12 City Councilman Antonio Lewis sought to prohibit wearing ski masks and hoods in public places.

"I think it’s absolutely absurd that there’s objection to this bill. I want to walk around in public and feel safe," another resident from Lewis's district said.

Lewis said the piece about hoods, which he said referenced headgear worn by members of the KKK, caused some confusion, but the overall intent was to help police more easily identify perpetrators of crimes who so often hide behind face coverings.

"I have a nephew whose mother was approached while she was in the store and was told ‘I’m gonna kill your son’ … and he had on a mask," he told FOX 5.

Georgia already has a state code that makes it a misdemeanor offense to wear a mask with the intent of concealing a person's identity. Similar legislation recently passed in Philadelphia. 

Several residents voiced concerns the ordinance plays into stereotypes that would give way to law enforcement groups racially profiling the city’s young Black boys.

"I see this as a new way into ‘stop and frisk.’ It’s a new way to be stopped," one woman told city leaders.

The legislation was filed on Monday, meaning it won’t move forward.

Lewis said despite the criticism, people in his district were in favor of the proposal.

"I’m standing on the business on this … from Cleveland Avenue," he stated. 

The city councilman told FOX 5 he plans to reintroduce it with some changes to the language - likely focusing on just ski masks - and he’ll bring it back up at the next council meeting. 

What remains to be seen is whether he’ll have support from fellow council members - many of whom withdrew support for the original legislation on Monday.