DeSantis threatens to sue Biden administration over vaccine mandate

[libertybele]

DeSantis threatens to sue Biden administration over vaccine mandate

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday threatened to sue the Biden administration over an anticipated coronavirus vaccine mandate.

The governor's comments came during a press conference in Fort Myers on monoclonal antibody treatments, which the governor has worked to make more accessible in the state to prevent severe COVID-19 infections.

"I think that the mandate is going to lose in court," DeSantis said during the press conference regarding the federal mandate.

He added that Florida would contest any such mandate from the Biden administration "immediately," and that any lawsuits from the state would be filed in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"We think the state of Florida has standing to do it," he said. "We also know businesses that we’re going to work with to contest it."

The governor also said Florida has "a responsibility at the state level to do whatever we need to do to protect Floridians from mandates that could result in them losing their jobs."

DeSantis and Biden have taken opposite stances on vaccine and mask mandates. While the president issued a mask mandate on federal grounds soon after taking office, DeSantis barred local mask mandates in Florida..............

.............In June, 99.5% of all COVID-19 deaths were of unvaccinated people. There have been a total of 14,115 U.S. deaths as a result of breakthrough cases, or COVID-19 cases that occurred in vaccinated individuals, and 70% of those vaccinated individuals were older than 65. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has noted that no COVID-19 vaccine is 100% effective against the virus................

https://www.foxnews.com/us/desantis-threatens-lawsuit-biden-vaccine-mandate

[libertybele]

Judge rejects challenge to Florida ‘vaccine passport’ ban
Ruling marks victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis

A Leon County circuit judge has refused to block a state law that bans so-called “vaccine passports,” rejecting arguments by a Sarasota business that the law violates First Amendment rights.

The ruling by Circuit Judge Layne Smith was a victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has led efforts to prevent businesses from requiring customers to show proof they are vaccinated against COVID-19 --- an issue that has become known as requiring vaccine passports.

Smith also split from a South Florida federal judge, who sided in August with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in a challenge to the state law. In both cases, the plaintiffs argued that the law was an unconstitutional restriction on speech.

But Smith, in a six-page decision Thursday, rejected the First Amendment arguments of Bead Abode, a Sarasota hobby and craft store, and refused to issue an injunction against the law. Smith said the basic issue in the case is whether the law restricts speech or regulates conduct.

“The only issue before the court, and the only one the court decided, is whether (the law) abridges Bead Abode’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech,” Smith wrote. “It does not. Instead, the statute regulates the plaintiff’s conduct.”

Smith, who was appointed as a circuit judge by DeSantis after serving as a county judge, also pointed to the Legislature’s authority and said the law “assures open markets.”

“Prohibiting businesses from requiring patrons to produce documentary proof of vaccination or recovery may or may not be a good idea,” he wrote. “Notwithstanding, that decision belongs solely to the Legislature and is subject to approval or rejection by the voters at the ballot box.”....................

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2021/10/16/judge-rejects-challenge-to-florida-vaccine-passport-ban/

[Kamaji]

Good.