A proposal to ban hoodies and ski masks from being worn in Atlanta has been put on hold for now. The Atlanta City Council proposed the ban to curb gang violence within the city limits.
Gang members wear hoodies and face masks to conceal their identities when committing crimes.
On Monday, the council’s public safety committee voted to pause the proposal until changes could be made to it.
Several city council members asked that their names be removed from the proposal.
Before the vote, the committee heard from Atlanta residents who support and oppose the proposal.
Residents said the bill violates freedom of expression. Some of them are opposed to the bill because they have family members who might be racially profiled.
“The fact that any one of you took this proposal seriously is pathetic,” one resident told members of the City Council.
“I think it’s absolutely absurd that there is objection to this bill. I want to walk around in public and feel safe,” Ralph Long III said.
Councilman Antonio Lewis told Fox 5 News he never feels targeted. “I’m always feeling safe. But I’m always thinking about my wife, thinking about my auntie.”
Atlanta didn’t have a serious gang problem until the CDC and the White House forced lockdowns across the country during the pandemic.
Criminals fled their locked down cities and moved to Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp defied President Biden and refused to lock down the Peach state.
A similar ski mask ban recently passed in Philadelphia.
Watch the video below.
