Illinois could become the first state in the country to ban mask bans. Here’s how we created the bill to do it.

Disability advocates in Illinois have watched with dread as anti-mask legislation spreads across the country during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Even in Chicago, a local lawmaker tried to criminalize masking in May 2024, despite the airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus — and many others — spreading through our community. 

While his attempt fizzled out — thanks, at least in part, to quick and robust outcry from the disability community — we wondered if there was something more we could do to future-proof the right to mask for all Illinoisans.

Illinois was the first state in the country to ban book bans in 2023. Why couldn’t we be the first state to ban mask bans, too?

Enshrining the right to wear protective medical equipment, such as N95s, is essential for protecting vulnerable populations, including the disabled, the immunocompromised, low-wage workers, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals, older adults, and people who are pregnant. It would also help protect anyone from developing chronic disease, since anyone can be affected by Long COVID.

Many attempts to ban or criminalize medical masks state they would not cause harm, because they would include health exemptions. But these supposed “health exemptions” are insufficient, would force people to disclose private health information, and would be inequitably enforced. Anti-mask legislation would disproportionately impact people who already face poorer healthcare outcomes, and would add barriers to accessing healthcare services. 

Anti-mask laws are discriminatory and dangerous, and so I and other disability advocates across the country are stepping up to counter criminalizing with codifying: our bills would enshrine the right to mask in public spaces in state law. 

What follows isn’t just the story of how we got this far; it’s a blueprint for how you, too, can ban mask bans in your state.

Illinois was the first state in the country to ban book bans in 2023. Why couldn’t we be the first state to ban mask bans, too?

How we got started

In June 2024, I took my first step as a still-wet-behind-the-ears disability organizer and advocate: I reached out to someone who had already helped spearhead new legislation in Illinois. She referred me to Nafia Khan at Progress Center for Independent Living, who brought the idea to a meeting of the Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living in August. 

That meeting started our fledgling Right To Mask Coalition, which includes Care Not COVID Chicagoland, a grassroots group I co-founded that advocates for safer healthcare settings, as well as two independent living nonprofits that provide support for people with disabilities and the Arc of Illinois, which helps those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  

“This bill is about supporting not only the right of the individual to use medical equipment in a public space, but about reinforcing the ideal of collective care,” wrote Erin Hostetter, Director of Programs at Progress Center for Independent Living. “When a line needs to be drawn that stops stigmatization and discrimination in its tracks, it’s very much a center of independent living’s duty to do so.”

First, our coalition outlined the broad goals of the bill: anyone is allowed to wear medical masks and respirators in any place of public accommodation throughout the state; people cannot be discriminated or retaliated against for wearing one; no one can forcibly remove your mask. Then, six of us spent an epic afternoon on Zoom writing a “one-pager” for our proposed legislation.

Shortly thereafter, Coalition member Sebastian Nalls, policy analyst at Access Living, took the first stab at drafting bill language. With existing Illinois laws as a model and suggestions from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and the World Health Network, we refined the language of our bill. Thanks to Nalls’ lobbying experience and connections, we secured our primary sponsor in the Illinois House of Representatives earlier this year. 

And it wasn’t an easy task. Due to the landmark nature of this bill, it took conversations with a few House members before we found one who would be both passionate about the goals of the legislation and willing to fight for it.

“State Representative Hoan Huynh is a longtime champion of disability rights” who “immediately recognized the impact of mask bans on those who are immunocompromised and the greater need to protect our communities,” Nalls wrote. “HB3853 would not be where it is today without his help.”

What the bill will do

Our bill, The Protective Medical Equipment Freedom Act (HB3853), is an essential and timely measure that safeguards civil liberties and advances public health protections:

1. It will prevent discrimination against individuals who choose to wear protective medical equipment, ensuring that no one is denied service, employment, or access to public spaces because of health precautions taken for themselves, their families, or their communities.
    
2. Neither operators of places of public accommodation nor public officials can infringe on this right, which includes protection from any pressure to remove their mask or not wear it in public.
    
3. The only person who can remove the mask is the person wearing it.
    
4. People can’t be forced to disclose their health status or other protective information.
    
5. With oversight from the Illinois Attorney General, this bill includes clear protections against discrimination, retaliation, and harassment, ensuring compliance and accountability through meaningful penalties. The Attorney General would be responsible for creating reporting mechanisms while investigating violations.

The status of our bill

In March, the original version of our bill stalled in the judiciary civil committee. We had worked hard to draft amendments that addressed concerns for different lawmakers and groups they serve. For example, although the bill only applies to protective medical equipment, a law enforcement group was concerned someone might think it applies to ski masks and balaclavas, too. They requested an amendment that clarifies that ski masks and balaclavas are not, in fact, protective medical equipment that would fall under the provisions of this legislation.

Even though committee members had requested these amendments and members of our coalition spent weeks trying to discuss the bill with the committee chair, the chair told us it was “too late” to add them — and the bill would have to wait for the next legislative session.

Still, we know that in just a few days in March, over 2,700 people filed witness slips to show support for the bill. The number of slips in favor was significant for a committee vote, proving overwhelming support. 

Although it feels we have been ignored and railroaded, we want to be clear we’re not done. This bill is not dead. And we don’t want to wait until next year, either. We’re now planning to run the bill in November’s veto session. While that comes with a higher vote threshold to pass out of committee, with your help, we can get there.

We’re now planning to run the bill in November’s veto session. While that comes with a higher vote threshold to pass out of committee, with your help, we can get there.

What you can do right now

Here’s how you can help us make sure this forward-thinking bill becomes a first-in-the-nation law: 

Illinois residents:

1. If you have experienced discrimination (such as not being allowed to enter a space), harassment, retaliation, or loss of employment due to masking, tell us.
    
2. Fill out the individual support form to receive updates, upcoming calls-to-action, and to join our coalition meetings.

Non-Illinois residents:

1. Tell us what it would mean for mask-related advocacy in your own state if Illinois passes this landmark bill.
    
2. Fill out the individual support form. We want to show state- and nation-wide support, and it will also help us get the word out about action items when the time comes.

Please visit pmefa.org to learn more.

You can start a bill to ban mask bans in your state, too

Our Illinois coalition members are not the only ones — nor do we want to be. Advocates in Massachusetts (House, Senate), California (Assembly), and Vermont (House, Senate) have gotten right-to-mask legislation introduced into their state legislatures.

Our hope is that folks across the U.S. can use the text of our bills as templates to create similar efforts elsewhere, sparking a domino effect where the next right-to-mask bill will be easier to pass than the last. The World Health Network has created a guide to help you get started, as well as a Slack channel to share advice and ask questions. 

Our hope is that folks across the U.S. can use the text of our bills as templates to create similar efforts elsewhere, sparking a domino effect where the next right-to-mask bill will be easier to pass than the last.

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To learn more and to get involved with any of these states’ efforts, you can contact the following advocates for their most up-to-date calls to action:

• California: Aly Abramowitz (ala@ind-alchemy.com, cbillofrights@highstakes4america.com)
• Illinois: Sebastian Nalls and Megan Doherty (snalls@accessliving.org, carenotcovidchi@gmail.com)
• Massachusetts: Naomi Bar-Yam (naomi@necsi.edu)
• Vermont: Kate Larose (kate@vcil.org) 

Any other advocates working on right-to-mask legislation: Please email Frank Blancero (frank@necsi.edu) to connect with this growing coalition.

Megan E. Doherty is a disabled writer and photographer in Chicago, Illinois. She is a co-founder of Care Not COVID Chicagoland, a grassroots advocacy group for safer healthcare settings.