States Gear Up for Legal Fight Over Vaccine Mandate
The Epoch Times, Sept 14, 2021) So far 27 states have voiced opposition to federal vaccine mandate, which governors say infringes on personal liberty
Nearly all Republican-led states have voiced opposition to the vaccine mandate announced by President Joe Biden last week. Many of them have vowed to fight the mandate in court, but held back on voicing specific legal strategies as details of the Biden administration’s policy remain unknown.
The mandate would require businesses with more than 100 employees to have staff either vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly for the disease. It would be put in place through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), according to Biden.
Governors and attorneys general in at least 27 states, all Republicans, made comments in opposition to the mandate. They all generally support vaccinations and some of them even support vaccine mandates in private businesses. However, they largely oppose the notion that businesses should be forced to require vaccination, especially by the federal government.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has already filed a lawsuit against the mandate, arguing it violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution. The Biden administration is targeting mandatory vaccination for American workers, but doesn’t require vaccination of those brought in after being caught crossing the southern U.S. border illegally, thus demonstrating “unconstitutional” bias “in favor of unauthorized aliens,” Brnovich’s Sept. 14 brief says.