Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum It’s party over public health now in North Carolina: The North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee approved an amended version of House Bill 237 on Tuesday morning that would prohibit the wearing of masks in public. The controversial bill, which would also increase criminal penalties for those who commit crimes while wearing a mask in public, comes in the wake of protests that have erupted on college campuses across the country in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Gotta nip that in the bud, as Deputy Fife would say up the road in Mayberry. Laws dating back to the 1950s that were enacted, at least in part, as responses to groups like the Ku Klux Klan, prohibit wearing a mask in public in North Carolina, with exceptions. Those exceptions were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to include people wearing masks for health reasons. Newton’s bill would remove that specific exception. They’re just rolling back the law to what it was before COVID, dontcha know. From the bill summary: Under Article 4A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes, Prohibited Secret Societies and Activities, it is generally a crime for an individual to wear a mask in public. However, under G.S. 14-12.11(a)(6), an individual can wear a mask in public for the physical health or safety of the wearer or others. If an individual wears a mask in public for health or safety reasons, a law enforcement officer can require the individual to remove the mask…