Photo: Representative John Ragan, (R) Oak Ridge presents amendment to House Bill 575.
Photo Credit: tn.gov
By Jon Styf [The Center Square contributor] –
A measure to prevent any government in Tennessee from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine passport is making its way through the General Assembly.
Amended House Bill 575 is supported by Gov. Bill Lee, who worked on the language with House sponsor Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, and Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville.
“I oppose vaccine passports,” Lee tweeted Tuesday in a statement also read by Ragan to the Tennessee House Health Subcommittee. “The COVID-19 vaccine should be a personal health choice, not a government requirement.
“I am supporting legislation to prohibit any government-mandated vaccine passports to protect the privacy of Tennesseans’ health information and ensure this vaccine remains a voluntary, personal decision,” Lee said.
The bill would not stop a business from requiring a vaccine passport.
The move is similar to those made by Republican governors in Texas and Florida. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently issued executive orders that said governments cannot require the passport for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Subcommittee member Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, said she supported the bill but believed it could go further related to HIPAA medical privacy laws. Ragan said he has a health condition that has prevented him from wearing a mask, using a shield instead, and he has not run into issues when he explains he has a medical condition.
Ragan said that at least one Tennessee county has passed rules requiring a vaccine passport or something similar already.
The bill will head to the full House Health Committee.
5 Responses
We need to eliminate the possibility of ANY vaccine passport requirements – not just by government, but commercial entities, as well. How do we make that happen?
I guess liberals have forgotten they passed a law protecting individuals medical history.
Papers please may I see your papers. Democrats called trump a tyrant. Now we have a pedophile in the Oval Office ruling by executive edict.
No one , public or private , should have the authority or ability to force or intimidate anyone into having a potentially life threatening shot injected into their body against an individual’s will . No kind of product , or service, ever be denied a free person because of their legitimate fear of being used as a guinea pig .This is just another excuse for any want to be tyrant to force someone to do something against their will. This is akin to medical rape. These shots are not even acknowledged to be safe and are in affect experimental and quite possibly unnecessary at this point in time.
No Government/Private Business has the right to implement this. This breaks HIPPA and our 4th Amendment Rights. I applaud the actions of our TN Lawmakers for addressing this. That said, WHAT will they do to protect jobs for TN residents that work for Corporations that try to bully employees into getting a shot that is NOT FDA approved? I will NOT get that shot, I do not wear masks. I live in a smaller town outside of Nashville, and we do not have a mask mandate. I am grateful that people here are “live and let live” IF someone wants to wear a mask, they do, and no one says anything, that applies to people that feel a mask is not for them. I, too, have a medical exemption and have never worn a mask (that do not work) with no problem, Corporations need to know that they need to be held accountable for any such bullying or threats of losing a job, AND, State and Federal Gov’t have NO place telling people how to live their lives.
This piece of paper does absolutely nothing for TN residents I hope people can see through Lee and his RINO ways and replace him with someone that will protect our constitutional rights