On Friday, Alabama Republican Party chairman John Wahl spoke out for the legislature, which is set to convene a special session on reapportionment next week, to use that session to address a vaccine mandate imposed by President Joe Biden earlier this month.

“Vaccine mandates are fundamentally flawed,” Wahl said in a press release. “No entity has the right to spy on a citizen’s personal health information, and requiring someone to disclose their vaccine status or be fired is the very definition of discrimination. Individuals and families should have the freedom to make their own medical decisions without fear of a government mandate.”

During an appearance on Friday’s broadcast of Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Wahl explained why he saw the action as something that was needed sooner rather than later.

“I think you’re right — a bill will be taken up on this issue, either in the special session or regular session,” he said. “And I know there’s already been a pre-filed bill with House Bill 31, which does a lot to protect people. I also think it has some unintended consequences that may not be the best. But really, when you look at the issue when it needs to be addressed, I think it is immediately. [If] you wait until January, you lose your best opportunity to be useful in a federal court case.”

“So, I’m very supportive of state lawmakers looking into this and trying to do something in the special session coming up,” Wahl continued. “I think that is the time to address it. I think it is the time to get a bill, a good bill. I think it is important that the bill protects individual liberties, protect the rights and the freedoms of the people of Alabama but also protects the rights and the freedoms of our businesses. You know, they’re the ones really being hurt here the most.”

Although Gov. Kay Ivey has made her intentions known about the dates for the special session, she has not made it clear as to whether or not she intends to include language in the special session call about the Biden vaccine mandate.

The special session is scheduled to begin on October 28.

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.