U.S. Senate hopeful Katie Britt is encouraging members of the Alabama Legislature to move to shield workers against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates.
The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday is set to take up two anti-vaccine discrimination bills passed by the Senate earlier this week.
Senate Bill 9, authored by State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Daphne), would provide workers with an avenue to legally claim exemption from the president’s vaccine decree. The other piece of legislation, Senate Bill 15, authored by State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), would authorize the attorney general to pursue civil action against violators of the state’s ban on vaccine passports.
The two pieces of legislation on Wednesday received approval from the House Health Committee.
I urge our lawmakers to pass legislation to protect the freedom of hardworking Alabamians. The State of Alabama should do everything within its power to preserve liberty and jobs across our state. #alpolitics
— Katie Britt for AL (@KatieBrittforAL) November 4, 2021
While she has not endorsed specific language, Britt’s support of the intent behind Senate Bill 9 places the candidate in public disagreement with the Business Council of Alabama (BCA), the organization for which she formerly served as chief executive.
BCA alleged that Senate Bill 9 “places Alabama employers in a no-win situation” and would “prevent Alabama employers from making their own personnel decisions.”
However, Britt expressed her desire to see Alabama lawmakers act to defend workers’ freedoms.
“Joe Biden’s tyrannical mandate threatens the livelihood of countless Alabamians and the freedom of every American,” declared Britt. “This vast overreach and coercion is not a solution to a problem; it only causes problems. Real leadership would find a way to simultaneously protect the lives of Americans while preserving their jobs and safeguarding their freedoms.”
She added, “It has become abundantly clear that the Biden presidency has a consistent strategy: when you don’t have a solution, you issue a mandate. Now, tens of thousands of Alabama jobs are at risk. We already have an historic labor shortage right now, and additional impediments to people earning a hard day’s living only further drives our country towards government dependency. Viewing freedom as the problem instead of the solution is the hallmark of a dictatorship, not the country we know and love. I support the State of Alabama stepping in to preserve liberty and jobs across our state.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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