Believing that American citizens must protect their freedoms, Republican Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama signed an executive order Monday instructing state agencies to fight back against the Biden adminisration's unconstitutional COVID vaccine mandates. The order comes after the Democratic president issued a vaccine mandate that requires all federal workers and contractors and private companies with at least a hundred employees to mandate the shot.
"The federal government's outrageous overreach has simply given us no other option, but to begin taking action, which is why I am issuing this executive order to fight these egregious COVID--19 vaccine mandates," Gov. Ivey said in a statement, as reported by the Christian Post.
"Alabamians - and Americans alike - should and must have the choice to roll up their sleeves to get this shot and certainly not forced by government. While President Biden laughs at the idea of protecting your freedoms, I will continue fighting for Alabama businesses and their employees."
President Joe Biden's unconstitutional COVID vaccine mandate, once finalized, will force violators to pony up up to $14,000 per violation. When he announced the vaccine mandate on September 9, President Biden said that his "patience is wearing thin" over those who refuse to get vaccinated. Gov. Ivey, meanwhile, argued that President Biden's unconstitutional COVID vaccine mandates are not the right way to encourage more people to get the jab.
Gov. Ivey remarked, "The best ways to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations in Alabama is through education, transparency, communication and persuasion - not government coercion." The executive order he signed mandates that "no agency, department, board, commission, or other entity within the executive branch of state government shall, under color of state law, seek to impose a penalty on any business or individual for noncompliance" of President Biden's unconstitutional COVID vaccine mandate.
The federal government's overreach has given us no other option, but to begin taking action, which is why I am issuing this EO to fight these covid-19 vaccine mandates. As long as I'm governor, AL will not force anyone to take the vaccine. #alpolitics https://t.co/d490Ogyevf
"” Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) October 25, 2021
The implementation of the Alabama governor's executive order is expected to spark confusion and possibly lawsuits in the state. In fact, University of Alabama system spokeswoman Lynn Lowe Cole already expressed how the university will still have to follow the federal mandate for contractors Advance Local Alabama reported. The university already notified its employees that their vaccination deadline is on December 8.
Cole explained that because COVID vaccines are mandated by the federal government, their "institutions do not have flexibility in its application or enforcement." She added, "Failure to comply will place our universities in jeopardy of losing hundreds of millions of dollars received through federal contracts and awards, as well as thousands of jobs funded by those dollars."
Huntsville Attorney Mark McDaniel shared Cole's sentiments, saying that Biden's federal mandate stands, as it will impact employers who work in places that receive federal funding, WHNT News 19 reported. He explained that the federal government would probably withdraw funding for any entity that refuses to comply with the vaccine mandate, adding that "until it goes to the United States Supreme Court, the federal mandate is going to take precedent over anything in the state that happens in the state."
Alabama State Senator Arthur Orr shared the same sentiments, saying that the Alabama governor's executive order is limited. The Republican senator remarked that the executive order "does nothing when it comes to employers or employees outside of state government."
