New law proposed to allow Gardai seize masks without warrant

If they think being seen in attendance will cause issues. Perhaps it's a stupid thing to be doing in the first place, and perhaps theres a less stupid way of expressing your support for something.

If you don't like the rules or the govt you know where the door is. Plenty of places don't have these rules. Some places don't have any rules. If you don't like rules.

this is nonsense. absolute tripe.

ok cool. i hadnt read the IT version. I am less enraged.

Well then don't half arsè a semi protest.

Either commit to the cause or don't bother.

This is a bit simplistic, isn't it?

It's not hard to imagine a scenario where somebody attending say, a trans rights rally, might want to avoid being identified by people they know in real life. And we could come up with other similar scenarios.

People deveoping these laws should look beyond the narrow lens of just focusing on whether they'll help to catch the scumbags they're trying to catch, and examine such wider potential impacts.

Looking online I can't find any Irish Trans Rally in the middle of the night with balaclavas. Among the thousands in the Irish day trans rallies really struggling to find people in masks.

It's giving the Garda powers to tackle crime. Somehow I doubt they are going to use to it to de-mask people in Patrick's Day Parades.

It's a false equivalence.

It makes no sense to facilitate thousands of crimes because of the possibility a tiny number of people will be embarrassed at a rally. IMO.

That's got nothing to with masks. Thats mistaken identity and doxing.

Maybe people can acknowledge this is whataboutery.

The answer to how to identify rioting protestors is to simply douse everybody there with an indelible dye and then the Gardai can pick them up for questioning at their leisure over the next week or so.

I really does if you're only example is the mistaken identity and not using a mask. They could do the same thing with AI for someone not even there.

You're getting into highly improbable fringe scenario's. By giving that disproportionate priority it's facilitating misuse of masks for crime and anti social behaviour which is rampant and very nasty and if left unchecked will only get even worse.

You always need rules. This forum would not function without rules. The reason you're here is because it functions well.

Would you prefer if it allowed spammers free reign.