by Stephen Wyer
Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) has come out in support of a lawsuit against the federal government that seeks to create a religious exemption for vaccination mandates in the armed forces.
Issa, a Republican representing California’s 50th Congressional District spanning much of northeastern San Diego and parts of Riverside County, issued a press release on Dec. 20 stating that he was joining 37 other Republicans in the House of Representatives and eight members of the Senate in filing an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit.
The litigation itself was filed in November on behalf of 35 active-duty Navy service members asking federal officials to create an exemption in President Joe Biden’s vaccination mandate for members of the military that would allow those with conflicting religious beliefs to opt-out of getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
The current lack of such an exemption infringes upon the religious liberties of service members, hurts U.S. national security, and does not serve the interest of public health, Issa said in his office’s press release.
“We will fight every day for the men and women who fight for us — even if it is one service member at a time,” the release states. “I am proud to join my colleagues in directly communicating to this court that these members of the Navy have constitutional rights that no one — not even President Biden — can take away.”
Issa also wrote an op-ed in Fox News on Dec. 15, arguing that the vaccination mandate will “decimate our military” and result in the potential dismissal of up to 50,000 service members who have refused to be vaccinated so far.
Source: https://thecoastnews.com/rep-darrell-issa-endorses-lawsuit-against-militarys-vaccine-mandate/