Minnesota Student Scores Win for Conscientious Belief Exemptions
October 6, 2021, attorneys at CrossCastle PLLC in Minneapolis issued a press release announcing a victory for the use of conscientious belief exemptions for Covid-19 student vaccines. Reversing their prior stance only allowing religious exemptions, the University of Minnesota Duluth has agreed to include non-religious conscientious beliefs in their exemptions. Based on this change, the student who sued the University is no longer seeking immediate court action, but he is still moving forward with the lawsuit attempting to show that the mandate itself is illegal.
“It’s clear that the University has changed its position,” notes CrossCastle Attorney Sam Diehl, “Students who sincerely do not wish to be vaccinated may simply submit a religious exemption form by Friday, Oct. 8 to be exempt from the U’s vaccine mandate, even if their concern is not religious.” The University’s President Joan Gabel had said back on August 13 that non-religious conscientious exemptions were not allowed, and this contradicts the state’s general vaccine law for colleges which in fact does include conscientious belief.
This is a big win for health freedom and protects Minnesota’s important long-standing laws protecting conscientiously held beliefs of students and families.
Health-Care Workers Stop New York’s Vaccine Mandate, For Now
On September 29, 2021, We The Patriots USA and three New York health care workers won a favorable ruling from the US Court of Appeals’ Second Circuit protecting religious freedom. The case involved New York state’s prohibition against the use of religious exemptions in its COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Since the state’s public employee vaccine mandate did not include a religious exemption, the workers sued to protect their right to decline the vaccine. The Court ruling protected the health care workers’ rights based on religious beliefs. The complaint in the case was filed on September 2nd. The Appeals Court ruling may be revisited on October 14 when a more complete hearing can be held.
For now, the court said that the state is “enjoined … from enforcing the [COVID-19 vaccine] mandate against persons claiming religious exemptions…”
Florida Court Protects Workers Suing over City of Gainesville’s Vaccine Mandate
On September 22, 2021, the Florida state court for Alachua County ordered a temporary injunction in the case of Friend, et all. v. City of Gainseville. The judge was considering the city’s policy that all of its workers be “fully vaccinated” for COVID-19 by October 30, or else face punishment or termination. The workers argued that this mandate goes against their right to privacy under the Florida Constitution, and that the highest constitutional standard of “strict scrutiny” should be applied in the judge’s analysis.
The strict scrutiny standard, in constitutional law, requires that a policy must serve a compelling government interest and also be the least restrictive means of serving that interest. The city did not offer any evidence at the injunction hearing, so the court was not able to determine, “whether the Vaccine Mandate meets a strict scrutiny test, a rational basis test, or whether it meets any other standard.” Judge Brasington noted that the Supreme Court has previously analyzed the legality of vaccine mandates according to the 1905 case of Jacobson and that review is done in the context of the rights afforded citizens under the constitution of their individual state. That means that the Florida mandate must be looked at in light of Florida’s constitution, specifically Article I, Sec. 23: “Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life except as otherwise provided herein . . .”
Judge Brasington noted that privacy rights under the Florida constitution are broader than those in the US Constitution, and that privacy is a “fundamental” right for Floridians. The strict scrutiny standard is required for fundamental rights and the judge concluded that this high bar was not met.
The State of California and Los Angeles County Agree to Pay $800,000 for Illegal Closure of Grace Community Church
California and Los Angeles County have agreed to pay close to a million dollars to settle a case brought forward by Grace Community Church and Pastor John MacArthur regarding freedom of religious worship. The case was in response to California’s attempt to close all houses of worship in March 2020. A September 1, 2021, press release indicated that the settlement occurred after state and federal courts in California issued permanent injunctions prohibiting the State of California or any of its agencies from ever again imposing discriminatory restrictions on all houses of worship.
The church’s counsel, Thomas More Society’s Special Counsel Jenna Ellis noted that, “The church is essential. Religious liberty and the Constitution won today against the overbroad, arbitrary, indeterminate, and clearly unconstitutional mandates from Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County. I am so very proud of Pastor MacArthur’s steadfast leadership and refusal to abdicate headship of Christ’s church to the state. I hope this hard-fought result encourages Californians and all Americans to stand firmly with the protections our Constitution rightly provides, and against tyranny.”
