Mask rules no barrier to free expression

A federal district court judge ruled that A Minnesota law requiring masks does not violate the First Amendment. The Minnesota Voters Alliance challenged the requirement with the argument that the law would not allow entrance into indoor public arenas without masks in protesting the requirement. (Reason, October 3, 2020, by Eugene Volokh of the Volokh Conspiracy)

Professor John E. Finn,The Conversation, July 22, 2020, argues that there are two reasons that mask requirements are not unconstitutional. One is that masks do not prevent a citizen from speaking or protesting. It regulates speech under limits of “time, place and manner,” constitutionally allowable. Second, First Amendment rights are not absolute. The Supreme Court established that protecting public health was sufficient reason for some restrictions on free expression.