{"id":35479,"date":"2017-10-13T18:36:45","date_gmt":"2017-10-13T22:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=35479"},"modified":"2017-10-13T18:36:45","modified_gmt":"2017-10-13T22:36:45","slug":"austrias-anti-face-covering-law-snags-a-shark-mascot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=35479","title":{"rendered":"Austria’s anti-face-covering law snags a shark…mascot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Posts from Lowering the Bar for 10\/12\/2017<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

It’s about sharks and shark mascots and shark masks and<\/em> an Austrian law. We are all forgiven if the masks and mascot references are confusing.<\/p>\n

But my confusion did not extend to the country of Austria. Although my geographical knowledge of Asia, and Africa and the mid-East and a few other areas of the earth is, hum, what to say? hazy?–I’m always dragging out my atlas to check yet again on the placement of Indonesia–my geographical awareness of countries I’ve visited, like Austria, is not too bad.<\/p>\n

So I dragged out my atlas (it’s gorgeous–published by Oxford–and extremely<\/em> heavy, thus the “drag” part) to double-check and…<\/p>\n

Yes, Austria is a land-locked nation.<\/p>\n

So…sharks?<\/p>\n

Anyway, it’s a good laugh for today. I offer the beginning of this Lowering the Bar item. Click on the link if you’d like to laugh even more with the rest of it, diligently and hilariously analyzed by Kevin Underhill.<\/p>\n

Anti-Mask Law Saddens Austrian Shark Mascot<\/h2>\n

Oct 12, 2017 04:45 am | Kevin<\/h4>\n

\"sad<\/p>\n

The law of unintended consequences strikes again: an Austrian law<\/a> intended to discriminate against Muslims\u2014sorry, \u201cto encourage assimilation into Austrian culture\u201d\u2014has ended up punishing the nation\u2019s shark mascots, according to reports this week.<\/em><\/p>\n

I actually don\u2019t know whether Austria has more than one shark mascot, but it has at least one. And that one reportedly got a ticket last Friday in Vienna because his shark head covered his face, something that has been illegal in Austria since the Anti-Face-Covering Act took effect on October 1st.<\/em><\/p>\n

Is it actually called the \u201cAnti-Face-Covering Act\u201d? Well, technically it\u2019s the\u00a0Bundesgesetz \u00fcber das Verbot der Verh\u00fcllung des Gesichts in der \u00d6ffentlichkeit (\u201cFederal Law on the Prohibition of Covering the Face in Public\u201d), but the Act says you can call it the Anti-Gesichtsverh\u00fcllungsgesetz (\u201cAnti-Face-Covering Act\u201d) for short. So, yes.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is one of several recently enacted provisions relating to immigration<\/a>, generally described in the legislation as being intended to encourage \u201cintegration\u201d of migrants into Austrian society. The objectives of the Anti-Face-Covering Act in particular are said to be \u201cthe promotion of integration by strengthening participation in society and securing peaceful coexistence in Austria.\u201d It is generally referred to as \u201cthe burqa ban,\u201d because some cynics apparently believe the intent is actually to keep Muslim women from wearing burqas, but as you can see here, it doesn\u2019t say anything about that:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Verh\u00fcllungsverbot<\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a02.<\/span>\u00a0(1) Wer an \u00f6ffentlichen Orten oder in \u00f6ffentlichen Geb\u00e4uden seine Gesichtsz\u00fcge durch Kleidung oder andere Gegenst\u00e4nde in einer Weise verh\u00fcllt oder verbirgt, dass sie nicht mehr erkennbar sind, begeht eine Verwaltungs\u00fcbertretung und ist mit einer Geldstrafe bis zu 150\u00a0Euro zu bestrafen\u2026.<\/p>\n

(2) Ein Versto\u00df gegen das Verh\u00fcllungsverbot gem\u00e4\u00df Abs.\u00a01 liegt nicht vor, wenn die Verh\u00fcllung oder Verbergung der Gesichtsz\u00fcge durch Bundes- oder Landesgesetz vorgesehen ist, im Rahmen k\u00fcnstlerischer, kultureller oder traditioneller Veranstaltungen oder im Rahmen der Sportaus\u00fcbung erfolgt oder gesundheitliche oder berufliche Gr\u00fcnde hat.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Well, embarrassingly, Google translates\u00a0Verh\u00fcllungsverbot as \u201cVeiling Ban,\u201d but\u00a0Verh\u00fcllung seems to be a more general term that can also mean \u201ccover,\u201d \u201cmask,\u201d or \u201cdisguise,\u201d so there\u2019s that.<\/em><\/p>\n

But if you read even farther, you grasp what this shark mascot actually is. Well, if you can do any grasping while you’ve collapsed onto the floor with helpless laughter:<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea the law was so extreme it covered mascots,\u201d said the manager of the advertising agency who sent the Austrian shark out to dance around in front of McShark\u2019s, a new electronics shop in Vienna. But indeed it did apply, or at least police who harassed the shark last Friday believed it did. \u201cThe shark was fined because he refused to take his mask off,\u201d a police spokesman confirmed, although based on the picture it looks like he just didn\u2019t take it off quickly enough. \u201cI\u2019m only doing my job,\u201d the shark complained, to no avail.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Posts from Lowering the Bar for 10\/12\/2017 It’s about sharks and shark mascots and shark masks and an Austrian law. We are all forgiven if the masks and mascot references are confusing. But my confusion did not extend to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337,1175],"tags":[2245,2241,2243,2239,2242,1261,699,2246,2244,2240],"class_list":["post-35479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-news","category-the-facts-of-life","tag-anti-face-covering-act","tag-anti-mask-laws","tag-assimilation","tag-austrian-law","tag-burqa-ban","tag-immigration","tag-lowering-the-bar","tag-mcsharks","tag-refuges","tag-shark-mascots"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t