Roy Gutterman, associate professor and director of the Tully Center for Free Speech, authored the paper, “Masking Free Speech: The First Amendment Implications of Masks, Clothing, and Public Health,” which was published in Loyola University Chicago Law Journal.
The article analyzes the constitutional status of mask requirements from a free-speech perspective, differentiating between the issue of
written words or logos on a mask as a form of speech, and the ability to keep one’s face uncovered as a speech right in itself. It examines the similarities and distinctions between challenges to mask mandates and other First Amendment objections to government restrictions related to clothing.