Some Republican lawmakers have suggested an upcoming special session for the purposes of reapportionment may include more than matters related to reapportionment.
According to State Rep. Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals), Gov. Kay Ivey may include language in the call of the special session that would allow the Alabama Legislature to push back against President Joe Biden’s efforts to impose vaccinations on the public through federal executive fiat.
During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Sorrell, a candidate for State Auditor in 2022, suggested bills pertaining to medical freedom, masking, and nullification of Biden’s orders should be up for consideration.
“I think next special session it is somewhat possible — I say somewhat, I’m going to give it 50-50 odds that there are other bills included in the call of the special beyond redistricting,” he said. “And I think if you see anything at all — what you’ll see is medical freedom bills. And that’s exactly what we need to be considering. So, if we’re already going to be in special session in Montgomery, it would not cost the taxpayers an extra penny for the legislature to consider some other bills.”
“I think the Alabama citizens deserve that of the legislature,” Sorrell continued. “We have not done very much at all to protect individual freedom and liberty when it comes to medical rights in this state. The only good thing that we have done that I’ve seen is Senate Bill 267 [last session] and passed it in May of this year. And it protected customers from discrimination based on vaccination status. What it did not do was protect employees from discrimination based on vaccination status. We need to see that bill. We need to see my anti-mask mandate bill for schools. Parents should be deciding whether or not their child wears a mask in school, not governmental entities. We don’t need the government to start making health choices for you.”
“And the third bill we need to see in a special session is a nullification bill saying we are basically going to ignore Joe Biden’s federal constitutional overreach,” he added. “And we’re going to do more than just ignore it. We’re going to actually obstruct. If they are going to try to enforce it in Alabama, we are going to use our resources to obstruct them. That’s how far we need to go with fighting back against Joe Biden and the federal government. Of those three bills, will we see some of them in special session? I tend to think that we will. It would not surprise me at all because there is so much public pressure right now. There’s a lot of pressure in the Alabama Republican Party. I can feel it building, and it is about to boil over. We don’t need to wait until January to deal with these issues. We need to deal with them now.”
According to the Colbert County GOP lawmaker, the nullification effort would make it illegal under Alabama law for a federal government official to force vaccinations on those that do not want it.
“We need to make it illegal under Alabama law for a federal officer to try to come in and give someone a vaccine that they do not want,” Sorrell explained. “So, if they come into our state trying to do that, they’re actually going to be guilty of a crime under Alabama law. I think that’s how far we need to take this nullification, and some people would say that’s extreme. That’s not extreme, Jeff. What’s extreme is Joe Biden signing executive orders telling 100 million people they have to get a vaccination. That is a personal choice you make with your doctor. I am not an anti-vaccine person. However, I am an anti-vaccine mandate person. I believe people should make that choice.”
“So yeah, that’s what I mean when I say we need to obstruct the federal government,” he added. “We need to make it a crime under Alabama law if they come in and try to force vaccination on people that don’t want it.”
@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.
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