FL Governor Ditches Vaccine Passports

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (ChurchMilitant.com) - Florida is finally free of the pandemic pandemonium with all of its Marxist restrictions being lifted.

Catholic governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed Senate Bill 2006, which bans governmental and business entities as well as educational institutions from requiring so-called vaccine passports. The ban goes into effect July 1.

"This legislation ensures that legal safeguards are in place so that local governments cannot arbitrarily close our schools or businesses," remarked DeSantis the same day. "In Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected, and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision."

The new law will penalize any violators requiring proof of vaccination — fining them up to $5,000 for noncompliance.

Along with the new legislation, DeSantis signed a pair of new executive actions invalidating all local emergency orders until SB 2006 takes effect in July.

Senate Bill 2006 functions as a permanent rubber stamp from the state legislature for the governor's previous executive order, issued April 2. 

Naysayers Persist

Not everyone was thrilled with DeSantis' executive order, among whom is Dr. Thomas Unnasch, codirector of the Center for Global Health Infectious Disease Research at the University of South Florida. Unnasch claims vaccine requirements have been around for over a century.

"In order to maintain herd immunity and make sure these are not an ongoing health problem, we need to make sure the majority of people are immune to these infections," Dr. Unnasch remarked.

Despite the doctor's claims, vaccinations are not slowing in Florida. During the governor's notorious clash with CBS' 60 Minutes program last month, DeSantis pointed out vaccination numbers are very high in Florida, specifically for high-risk seniors in Palm Beach.

"Palm Beach is one of the biggest counties, one of the most elderly counties. We've done almost 75% of the seniors in Palm Beach, and the reason is because of the strong retail footprint," he reminded them, referring to stores offering the shots.

Florida is also on the bottom end of China virus deaths per 100,000 people, ranking 28th of 50. States like New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island remain in the top four in spite of having some of the nation's tightest pandemic restrictions.

Catholics' Concerns

For faithful Catholics, the move marks a significant victory for religious freedom. Every one of the vaccines in use was derived using aborted babies' cell lines — even if several do not outright contain the cells.

In December, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a statement on Wuhan virus vaccines:

At the same time, practical reason makes evident that vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary. In any case, from the ethical point of view, the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one's own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good.

Though many predict Florida's new law is headed to court, the Catholic governor appears to be steadfast in his fight against government intrusion into the lives of all Floridians, religious and nonreligious alike. 

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