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Vaccine Passport Ban in Florida
Forty-three businesses or government offices are being investigated as a result of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ newly signed law on banning the requirement of vaccine passports. Violators will receive a notice of violation from the health department, which includes the right to a hearing before an administrative judge. If the final order is approved, a fine of $5,000 would be due within 30 days. The legislation appears here.
No one is surprised that Gov. DeSantis has taken this gutsy move, although there are those who see it as a political ploy (unfortunately behind a paywall). State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, said that the DeSantis administration has not fined anyone is telling. He said the law was politically motivated.
‘He’s not actually fining any businesses,’ said Guillermo Smith, who is suing the Department of Health over the disappearance of detailed coronavirus data. ‘It’s just another bumper sticker for him to help him raise money.’
Of course, the money raised will go to the Florida Department of Health. Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’ Press Secretary, made this statement:
‘Vaccine passports reduce individual freedom and harm patient privacy,’ she said. ‘Allowing businesses and educational institutions to require vaccine passports as a condition of entry or service would entrench an unfair, two-tiered society.’
In spite of those who are criticizing DeSantis, I believe his actions are wise and courageous. Except for very early on, he has been consistent and relentless in his actions regarding Covid-19. Recently he tried to prohibit schools requiring mask mandates, but he was overruled by a judge, and a motion to reconsider was refused.
Gov. DeSantis is not the only one who is taking action. Several states are leaning toward or have enacted bans on vaccine passports to date: Montana, North Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Arizona, Alaska, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arizona, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Now we will need to see whether the State of Florida follows through. I suspect that the businesses are being investigated not only to verify the claims against them, but to give them an opportunity to withdraw their bans. To my knowledge, no business has yet gone before an administrative judge, nor has anyone been fined. Whether it’s popular or not, I expect that some businesses will be fined.
Our privacy and personal agency, as well as equal treatment under the law, are priorities.
People are learning to take Governor Ron DeSantis seriously.
Published in Domestic Policy
I found my movin’ buddy!
??
I’m encouraged that almost half of the states are rejecting the vaccine passports. Maybe some people are waking up?
It’s a toy story reference. When Bo Beep says, in reference to Woody “I found my movin’ buddy…” Or so I remember it.
Not mine. :-(
I’d be curious how they define what a vaccine passport is/what constitutes a passport? The woke company I work for (that gets a whole.lot of government reimbursement has integrated an ‘Attestation’ and ‘Health Assessment questionnaire with our access badges each time we are at an office.
I have to be honest, hope to see that our Florida facilities get cited/fined by my favorite Governor and presidential hopeful.
So sorry!
One of the articles I linked says where you can report them . . . ;-)
In an ideal world (well, ideal by my standards), there should be no need for a ban on vaccine passports. Enough customers would refuse to patronize an establishment that required customers to “show their papers” and enough employees would refuse to work for entities that required employees to comply with invasive medical procedures that it would be bad business for such requirements to exist. But, since there are so many powerful forces pushing for such requirements I applaud politicians like Gov. deSantis who use the law to push the other way.
As to the politician who claims that Gov. deSantis is engaging in a political stunt because Gov. deSantis hasn’t actually fined any businesses, note how much compliance Pres. Biden has gotten with a vaccine mandate that hasn’t even been formally proposed yet.
I don’t know if I would patronize a business that required the passports; I’m vaccinated, but it’s an invasion of privacy. Regarding the protesting politician, the law just passed on the 16th, so what’s his point? But people are going to die, dontchaknow! I will try to track what happens.
I know I won’t. At least not ones that are doing it voluntarily, as many local restaurants are doing. Before they reinstated the mask mandates, some restaurants were still requiring them. I just walked out…
I don’t take masks places anymore. If a location requires it, they can give me a mask. My husband is actually surprised by how many places post “masks required” signs at the door but say nothing when I come in with no mask.
That makes me wonder whether they think they have “done their job” when they at least say they require masks, and assume no one really expects them to pick a fight if we don’t. I go very few places where masks are required–I skipped going to a Chinese restaurant because they said “Absolutely no service without masks!” but they only had take-out. Isn’t that odd?
They are required my mandate here again, and I usually won’t wear one if they are being cool about it. If they aren’t, but I need to go in, it is what it is…
There’s a Thai place nearby that’s the same. They don’t need my money…
It’s been months since anyplace I’ve been has required masks – I dare say there are none, except medical offices. And even Mr AZ’s gastroenterologist office does not require one. I rarely see any masks in restaurants but there are still a lot in the grocery stores – even younger folks, kids included.
I keep reminding like-minded people: NO ONE should show their papers, regardless of their vaccine status.
Exactly!
By saying it is a political stunt, Democrats are admitting most voters agree with DeSantis
I have seen the same. Masks are now entirely social virtue signaling devices, like any other fashion accessory loaded with social meaning. The younger folks with kids are signaling leftist tribal membership.
I am struck by the number of very elderly people, and I can say that as I am one, and the very young people who persist in wearing masks everywhere, even while by themselves alone driving their cars. We live in a wooded area in the Florida Panhandle and I still see fairly young people (judging by the parts of their heads I can see) who bicycle past our home in some of the cleanest, purest, most wholesome air in the United States, with what appears to be something akin to a bath towel wrapped around their head. I just want to out and scream at them and ask them if they really have to let the world know how virtuous they are that badly that they would cut off their respiration to that extent while exercising. With the young people, when I see this ridiculous charade, my main emotion is one of caring, but also one of just letting this play out as it will do with all “fads” with young people, for that is all that it is in actuality. With the very elderly, when I see this phenomenon being played out, I feel a deep sadness and something bordering on a real anger at our “Government”, at how deeply they have propagandized the elderly to be afraid that their very existence is going to be subject to a serious challenge if they even get out of their car without affixing that stupid Badge of Virtue– or, in their case, of Fear. It is, and this is my opinion with which one can agree or disagree in good faith I will assume, downright criminal what these monsters like The High Priest of Covid, Saint Anthony Fauci, have done to this country for the sake of some air time on the garbage cable channels, in order to be genuflected to like saints. Just despicable the lives they have turned upside down, including, most horribly and grotesquely, the lives of our children, our very future. Goebbels is smiling, if one is able to do that where he is.
Susan, I am amazed that there are still restaurants in Florida who would have a mandatory mask requirement… I would think that as long as our wonderful State has been wide open that a restaurant run by a bunch of Karens as that one obviously must have been (sorry; I know it was Chinese, but really didn’t know that quickly of a name to fit…) could survive a single day! There are so many wonderful restaurants in our area of the Panhandle which have been operating wide open for about a year now (as I recall, the date of the Executive Order opening everything up was September 25, 2020) no restaurant could have that many “stars” in their rating to continue operating with a mask mandate.
Sadly, Churches in our area are back to a mask mandate, which one puts up with (or as Sir Winston would insist it should be said, up with which one puts) or not attend services. And equally sadly, our Symphony Orchestra has Opening Night in a few weeks, and it is enforcing a total mask mandate. Quite frankly, I have been astonished at the fact there have been no, repeat no, questions raised by anyone about this anomaly — My Lady has already announced she will not be attending but I am very torn as I love Brahms Fourth Symphony and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and may have to — and do I ever hate to use this word, but it is the one most descriptive of what we are being forced to do– submit.
God Help Us.
Sincerely, Jim
Maybe it won’t be worth listening to if each of the musicians has to be in some kind of “bubble” 6 feet from each other, and maybe wearing special masks too…
If you own a Chinese restaurant you have more reasons than most businesses to fear a crackdown by officials.
Wait… Are people actually suggesting that Ron DeSantis, a politician, is practicing politics? Well, I never…
Probably physics works different there in AZ than in Washington. See here in our restaurants, the way to stop the spread of the ‘rona is to wear your designer mask when you go in, and on your way to the table. Then once you sit down, you take the mask off. If your spittle has a smaller distance to fall from your mouth to the ground, then it’s less of a risk, see? Now we ate at a restaurant a few weeks ago that had bar height tables. That was very perplexing. Technically we were sat down…but…
What other sort is there? If it’s voluntary, then it’s not a requirement. ;-)
The Governor seems to know where we’re headed and is fighting. We make real meaningful changes or we lose the country. At some point the only gesture left will be to leave the delusional US and form an independent Republic. We may have to be clearly in a position to do so to awaken the educable.
Whew! I was worried about you for a moment . . .
I think vaccine passports are silly. They will start forging them at some point, if they haven’t already. All the medical offices I go to here in NYC have a temperature check up front. They should just implement that everywhere. I know you can have the virus without having a fever at the moment, but you can still have the virus if you have been vaccinated. So there’s no difference. It would save everyone a lot of heartache.