Governor DeSantis Slams Biden's Vaccine Orders, Will Fine Cities That Mandate The Shot

Raymond Wolfe : Sep 14, 2021
LifeSiteNews.com

"If a government agency in the state of Florida forces a vaccine as a condition to employment, that violates Florida law, you will face a $5,000 fine for every single violation..." -Gov. Ron DeSantis

(Newberry, FL) — [LifeSiteNews.com] In a news conference on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened massive fines for local governments attempting to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida and vowed to take action against Joe Biden's latest vaccination requirements. (Screengrab image)

"We are going to stand for the men and women who are serving us," DeSantis said at a news conference in Alachua County. "We are going to protect Florida jobs. We are not going to let people be fired because of a vaccine mandate."

The Republican governor took aim at cities and counties requiring employees to get vaccinated, saying that his administration would move to punish violations of Florida's ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates with potentially "millions of dollars" in fines.

"If a government agency in the state of Florida forces a vaccine as a condition to employment, that violates Florida law, you will face a $5,000 fine for every single violation," DeSantis said. "If you look at places here in Alachua County, like the city of Gainesville, I mean, that's millions and millions of dollars potentially in fines."

"We will certainly move to impose the fines as the law requires when we see people that are denied access," he stressed.

In May, Florida enacted S.B. 2006, which bans government entities from requiring proof of COVID vaccination for employment or for access to services. The law also allows the governor to invalidate local emergency orders and prohibits businesses from asking patrons to provide proof of vaccination, though it does not ban vaccine mandates for private sector employees.

S.B. 2006 allows up to $5,000 in fines per violation for any business, school, or public entity that demands documentation of COVID-19 status.

The governments of Orange County, Leon County, and the city of Gainesville have nevertheless moved forward with strict vaccine mandates for employees, in defiance of S.B. 2006, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Those local governments said Monday that they will still continue to require vaccination, despite lawsuits brought by hundreds of workers.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings (D) acknowledged that fines due to the mandates would likely amount to "a lot of money."

Biden's ‘unconstitutional' vaccine orders

At his news conference on Monday, DeSantis again slammed the COVID vaccination requirements announced last week by Joe Biden, which mandate the jab with no testing option for all federal employees, federal contractors, and healthcare workers at facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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