Senator Jon Bramnick may have pulled the gloves off when he proposed a bill requiring people to take their masks off.

Bramnick, who is running for governor in a crowded field.

Proposed legislation on Thursday that would ban masks at protests and other demonstrations.

But he quickly backtracked on the plan after hearing the blowback and changed it to something that he says won't could deter criminals from concealing their faces.

Senior political correspondent David Cruz has more on where this bill stands now.

Media jumped all over me on this one.

Most attention I've gotten, and all I'm trying to do is craft something to that law enforcement easier to identify criminals.

That's all.

Senator Jon Bramnick is a defense attorney by day.

But his most forward facing job is as an elected state official and now as a candidate for governor.

A self-described law and order candidate, to be more specific.

But his attempt to burnish those credentials for more conservative potential voters unmasked some immediate opposition.

The bill is overbroad, unsafe, and limits the public's ability to exercise their fundamental constitutional rights like freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

On top of that, the vagueness of the law opens the door to law enforcement being able to target people based on their political beliefs.

Well, we already we know that anti-mask laws have a chilling effect on some protesters ability to show up for causes they believe in.

Which is why we strongly oppose this bill.

Mask mandates were a thing during Covid, as you may remember.

And bills like the original version of this one are seen as a reaction to that, as well as a reaction to protest related to the Israeli Hamas war.

If you look at what happened at Nassau County's hearings on their mask ban law, you had people who were cast on harassed simply for wearing a mask.

There is going to be a climate of intimidation, and that is also a tremendous fear.

I have that this even if it doesn't pass.

The mere fact that you've gone ahead and proposed this will undoubtedly stir up incidents of harassment and discrimination against people who are masking.

Bramnick says that's not his intent at all.

He says he wants to give police another tool to discourage criminal activity.

Although he gave no evidence that this bill would be much of a deterrent.

It is a complicated bill, but no one's getting stopped because they're wearing a mask.

You know that I believe 100% in Covid.

I believe in vaccines.

I believe in in wearing mask covers.

I don't believe you should use that mask in the in the commission of a crime.

And it's only going to add a disorderly persons offense, but it's going to send a message to people, hey, listen, you're going to commit a crime.

You might be charged with two offenses, one disguising yourself and two committing a crime.

The senator says the new language is still being worked on, but the bill will be introduced this week.

It's unlikely to get much traction in the legislature, but given the public attention it has gotten, the law and order Senator may have achieved exactly what he intended.

I'm David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.