Governor Tate Reeves has signed a bill that bans vaccine mandates and vaccine passports in Mississippi.
House Bill 1509 prohibits state agencies, public officials, state institutions of higher learning, public community or junior colleges, county, municipalities, and other political subdivisions from enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates or requiring a COVID-19 vaccine for employment.
“A large part of it is this fundamental belief by some in blue states that they know best and that they, from government, ought to be able to utilize…decision making to tell individual Americans what they should or should not do,” Reeves said, regarding his decision, in a recent interview with FOX Business. “The approach I’ve taken from the beginning is I’ve gotten a COVID vaccine because I thought it was in the best interest of me, but I don’t think I should take my judgment and put that in place of every individual.”
Reeves later tweeted that a portion of his rationale for signing the legislation spurred from his respect for religious freedoms in Mississippi. HB 1509 also ensures those with a religious objection to the COVID-19 vaccine cannot be forced by employers to receive one.
In Mississippi, we respect medical privacy and religious freedoms, and trust our residents to make decisions that are best for them and their families.
That’s why I signed legislation banning vaccine mandates and vaccine passports in our state! pic.twitter.com/b1bPwI369Y
— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) April 29, 2022
Additionally, HB 1509 makes it illegal for public or private schools to require children to receive a vaccine.
