AIBU to think face coverings in public should be banned?

Why are medical masks or scarves to keep you warm ok but face covering for a religious reason not ok?

The shoplifters where I live all wear face covering and charge in and out of shops grabbing what they like

I agree it’s an issue. I’m not sure that a law saying they should take off their face covering when entering a shop will prevent them from breaking the law. The law against shop lifting certainly doesn’t.

Personally I think face coverings (all face coverings, religious or not) should be treated the same. So if someone needs to show their face in a bank or buying medication etc, then I’d apply that across the board.
But I don’t think a rule about balaclavas in shops would make a blind bit of difference to shoplifting as a problem.

What about scarves when it’s cold?

Facemasks when people don’t want to spread illness or catch things?

Do you want to ban them too?

Why do you think in a democracy the state should tell people how to dress?

and again in a democracy why should law abiding people be challenged by the police?

You think people who have health reasons should be exempt, but police should challenge everyone? You think someone has to declare their health history to a police officer?

Shops and cafes are not designated as “public places” they can have any policy they like already.

Yes being mugged by someone in a balaclava leaves little room for nuance eyes wise

No they shouldn’t. The “sinister” issues you mention are relatively small in number, but your main problem of women choosing to wear religious clothing would be severely impacted. I don’t wear any kind of face covering, but have no need to “form connections” with people in public. Many shops already do have restrictions on face coverings that shoplifters wear. If someone is going to nick your phone, they aren’t going to be too bothered about following a law on face coverings. There is already a bill going through Parliament to deal with people hiding their identity at protests. The law already allows for anyone to be asked to remove a face covering by the police for identification purposes.

A nationwide ban of all face coverings in public would also have a massive impact on people who wish to use face coverings for health reasons.

This is a genuine question but what would you class as a “covering” that would be banned.
If it’s cold and someone has a woolly hat pulled down quite low, and a scarf pulled up over their mouth? If that’s ok, how cold do you allow it? Who judges that?
I’m assuming you wouldn’t be including someone immunocompromised wearing a face mask?

Dows this include medical face masks, such as the ones we wore in tbe pandemic? I see quite a lot of people wearing them still.

Good point about Sara Sharif. Seeing young girls in any sort of veil or covering does make me feel uncomfortable I have to admit.

Have you actually spent time with women in niqab? Although it's very uncommon where I live, from time to time I work alongside women in niqab and I honestly don't feel it creates a barrier at all. A huge amount of non-verbal communication happens through the eyes.

Perfectly reasonable. It is a security issue which as you say prevents social cohesion.

I would also add that after the Sara Sharif murder where her hijab was used to hide some injuries and mask ongoing abuse, no child should be allowed these in school. They are also divisive and have apparently led to bullying of some Muslim students by other Muslims for not wearing them.