Mike Barry:Well, First Liberty Institute represents nine Air Force members who are challenging the Air Forces enforcement of its vaccine mandate. But what we cant do is say, well, because they ruled this way, in this case, this is how theyre going to rule in all cases. Copyright 2023 Military.com. The Navy on Wednesday announced it had granted one waiver to a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, a non-drilling service member, who would have to get vaccinated should he or she come on orders. The lawsuit emerges as the latest development in an ongoing fight between state leaders and the federal government as Gov. Court Delivers Win to Military Members Denied Religious Exemptions From Pentagon Vaccine Mandate, SCOTUS 101: Student Loans and Major Questions, Unpacking the Oral Arguments Against Bidens Student Loan Cancellation, Appeals Court Steals Show on ERA Amid Senate Panels Bid to Resurrect Dead Amendment, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments. Federal News Network's DoD Cloud Exchange: From enterprise to the tactical edge discover how the Defense Department and military services intend to advance their use of cloud technologies. Judge Matthew McFarlands decision brings the case, Doster v. Kendall, closer to trial as a class-action lawsuit. But the administration won at least a temporary, partial victory last March when the Supreme Court approved a partial stay. The order allowed the Navy to consider the sailors vaccination status in making decisions on deployment, assignment and other operational issues while the case plays out. The government really cant scrutinize belief very far.. All of the military services are currently reworking their policies to adjust separation and promotion records for service members who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Pentagon. So if they work Sunday afternoon, or if theyre scheduled to work a particular Sunday afternoon, they say, Well, Im a Sabbath observer on Sundays. Each week, Defense Reporter Jared Serbu speaks with the managers of the federal government's largest department. You got a preliminary injunction in that case and a favorable ruling from the Fifth Circuit. FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. On Friday, President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023, which repeals the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members. "We will continue to promote and encourage COVID-19 vaccination for all personnel to ensure readiness, facilitate mission accomplishment, and protect the force.". Our military, I mean, you can open any news feed that you want. They argue that their 1st Amendment rights are being infringed upon, because their sincerely held religious beliefs prevent them from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. 3 min read POINT PLEASANT, NJ A U.S. Marine from Point Pleasant who was discharged. We are kicking out people by the thousands. This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,OConnor said: As a brief preview, the vaccine mandate fails strict scrutiny. Two staff sergeants, one Army, one Marine, have filed a lawsuit against three federal agencies, challenging plans to conduct mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations of military troops. "Former Soldiers may petition the Army Discharge Review Board and the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to request corrections to their records," the service's press release said. The policy does allow commanders to "implement Health Protection Measures at any time or manner deemed necessary in support of operational safety and effectiveness." A federal judge in Cincinnati has expanded a temporary exemption to a Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine mandate to cover thousands of service members in the U.S. Air Force and Space Force,. Jared Serbu: Mike, thanks for being here. Dr. Lee Merritt, a self-described Navy surgeon, stated during an . And so all of them have requested religious accommodations from the vaccine mandate, which is, of course, something that DoD regulations and even federal law, clearly permit and allow. Another claimant, a Muslim Marine Corps captain, who said that his religious beliefs that require him to abstain from participation in that which is haram forbidden including the destruction and commoditization of innocent human life as exemplified by the use of human fetal cell lines derived from abortions, according to the lawsuit. Military service members have. This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal. All rights reserved. None of the plaintiffs clarify whether they engage in any other behavior that might be seen as a desecration of that temple, whether its alcohol, drugs, unprotected sex or in the case of the Old Testament tattoos and piercings. "This vaccine mandate is unlawful and does not reflect the Land of the Free," said General O'Connor. Another lawsuit, first filed by troops attached to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, has led to temporary protections for around 10,000 active-duty, Active Reserve, reserve and National Guard members of the Air Force and Space Force who requested a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine, although only those who have been denied an exemption would face immediate action. The Supreme Court is historically, they only address the legal issues that are brought before them, right. U.S. Military Service Members with Natural Immunity File Lawsuit over COVID Vaccine Mandate. Its just under 4,100. But nevertheless, how many, I fly almost on a weekly basis for my job. The Supreme Court ruled in March 2022 that the sea service was allowed to reassign sailors who had refused the shot and filed exemption requests to nonoperational commands. And they recognize that theres almost a presumption of belief. Military officials announced this week that, after months of warnings, they have . There is no verifiable evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have killed, or will kill, more military personnel than the disease itself. Indeed, Defendants employed such measures during the prior year before COVID-19 vaccines were made widely available.. The complaint also brings up the issue of Food and Drug Administration licensure. They become the exception and not the norm. They are, theyre ignoring the law, theyre ignoring the Constitution. We are hemorrhaging people like crazy, and were having a really hard time recruiting capable people to join our military. Is there any assurance on the record, that there will be no deployment decisions based on vaccination? Judge James Ho, one of three judges hearing the case asked Department of Justice lawyer Casen Ross. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 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While vials contain the same formula, some have made the argument that because providers are still giving the emergency-use Pfizer version, no one can be compelled to get vaccinated until the Comirnaty-labeled vials are in circulation. The same day the Pentagon set the deadline for the services, several of the branches -- namely the Army and Air Force -- began issuing their guidance, which stated they would remove or correct adverse actions in records related to vaccine refusal. And that is textbook discrimination, right? The free exercise of religion, even in the military, it triggers the strongest protection available in the law.. Its just such an inappropriate position for the government to be in.. The first military COVID-19 vaccine mandate will take effect in November. -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. "This guidance is a promise of what the Air Force is saying it will do," Bruns told Military.com. ), the Washington Post, and others. In fact, as of Dec. 17, the religious accommodation requests of at least 29 of the 35 naval plaintiffs had been flatly denied. And both lawsuits include arguments that the plaintiffs prayed on the issue and came to the conclusion that vaccination would violate their principles. Their lawyers have called a sham with applications being categorically denied., The Defense Department denied the process was onerous and said the Navy has a compelling interest in requiring vaccinations for personnel who often operate for long periods in confined spaces that are ripe breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses.. Plaintiffs, therefore, do not object to safety measures that reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace, it reads. The service branches must notify the Pentagon that they've made the changes no later than March 17. The government burdens religion when it put[s] substantial pressure on an adherent to modify his behavior and to violate his beliefs.. While the Jan. 3 victory applies only to the named naval personnel in the lawsuit and not to the entire vaccine mandate issued by the Department of Defense, for religious freedom advocates and faithful Americans, the victory is a breath of fresh air and a much-needed reminder that individuals who have selflessly committed themselves to the defense of the Constitution and its enshrined liberties are sometimes the very people whose rights need defending the most. The government responded to the lawsuit by pointing out that immunization requirements are common in the military beginning with the Continental Army under George Washington and that vaccines and are essential to preventing the transmission of diseases in close quarters. And thats why this is a sham.Jared Serbu: The Air Force case is a putative class action. The military across the board is discriminating discriminating against people of faith. The lawsuits dont mention other vaccines these troops received either in their childhoods or during service the chicken pox, rubella and hepatitis A vaccines are all required that used descendent fetal cells in development. More than a dozen unidentified U.S. service members have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Defense Department's COVID-19 vaccine order, saying they have natural immunity from. The number of exemptions has fluctuated over the last several months as some people decided to get the shots or leave the service instead of seeking accommodation. And they have different ranks, different different job responsibilities in the Air Force, a number of them are actually pilots in the Air Force. Right? The lawsuit filed by Air Force members and other federal employees claims that "the US Constitution and numerous federal laws make it unlawful to compel persons to be vaccinated." The plaintiffs. Theyre basically saying, Nope, the vaccine is the only way that were going to allow you to continue to remain in the service. And one of the things I forgot to mention was the whole concept of natural immunity. Mike Barry:No, really, I mean, this is happening across the entire Department of Defense. Already, a soldier and Marine have filed a lawsuit arguing that service members who have already recovered from COVID-19 and therefore have natural immunity should be exempt from vaccine mandates, according to the Army Times. There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment. The latest class action targets the Air Forces religious accommodation process, arguing that process is set up in such a way that getting a religious exemption to the vaccine is almost impossible. How large is the class? 26 Feb 2023 11:38:25 Pfizer Inc wants to intervene in a Texas federal lawsuit seeking information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration used in licensing the company's COVID-19 vaccine, a litigation move that . As part of the exemption process, service members are required to meet with a chaplain to work through their concerns. Subscribe on PodcastOne or Apple Podcasts. The mandate treats comparable secular activity (e.g., medical exemptions) more favorably than religious activity. The Navy began issuing guidance to sailors earlier this month. The decision sets the stage for a future trial or, possibly, the case winding its way up to the Supreme Court. Any sailors who submitted a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine can continue in the Navy under the injunction, according to NAVADMIN 102/22. A group of lawsuit plaintiffs, including four Air Force officers and a Secret Service agent, have asked a federal court to block the Biden administration's coronavirus vaccination mandates,. Theyre not following their own regulations. In his order, OConnor granted an injunction against the Biden administration and the Department of Defense, preventing them from enforcing the vaccine mandate against any of the named service members who had applied for a religious exemption.
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