More on the Dangers of Vaccine Passports

Vaccine passports – more reasons to say no:

I and many others have real misgivings about all those who are now calling for and/or demanding vaccine passports. The supposed benefits to public health and safety seem to be far outweighed by the very real threats to freedom and democracy.

The fact that Communist China is basically running with things like this with its social credit system should be warning enough. Or consider the yellow star identification badges that had to be worn by a certain group of people not all that long ago in Germany. But I have already laid out some basic concerns about these passports: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2021/04/07/on-vaccine-passports/

In that piece I discussed how a number of jurisdictions have said they will not run with these. And more places are getting onboard with this. As yet one more example:

Governor Brad Little has issued an executive order banning so-called “vaccine passports” in his state. Amid a national row over the passports, Idaho is the third state to ban them. “Vaccine passports restrict the free flow of commerce during a time when life and economy are returning to normal,” Little said on Wednesday before signing the order, which bans all government entities in Idaho from requiring proof of vaccination to receive services or enter facilities. https://www.rt.com/usa/520412-idaho-bans-vaccine-passports/

And in my previous piece I mentioned how the Biden government said it will not be pushing these passports. But of course it does not need to push them, since plenty of corporate giants already are – along with a whole range of institutions, businesses, schools, and so on. So we will end up getting the exact same result – and bypassing the democratic process to boot.

Cheryl K. Chumley explains why this is such a huge concern:

The left, the coronavirus-loving left, has successfully taken the coronavirus and used it to great political advantage, shoving through the free market and into private business all the clampdowns and shutdowns and regulatory chills they can’t do the constitutional way — which is a case in point of why the left is so coronavirus-loving.

 

The worst is the weaponizing of the free market. The left has created this sort of oligarchy with the corporate world, using CEOs to drive policies that can’t pass legislatively, that wouldn’t meet constitutional muster in the courts, that aren’t in any way, shape or form in line with U.S. values, U.S. liberties or U.S. governing principles.

 

Example? Here’s a telling headline or two: “Fauci says federal government won’t mandate COVID vaccine passports,” CBS News reported, in reference to the nation’s top disease doc, Anthony Fauci, speaking about the ongoing discussions of mandated vaccines versus voluntary vaccines, and how the two shall meet.

 

“Fauci: Federal government won’t require COVID vaccine passports,” Axios also reported.

 

Well, news flash: That’s because the Constitution doesn’t exactly support the federal government’s right to make vaccines a condition of entry to public venues, a condition of travel, a condition of access. So what’s the go-around that the Biden government’s got planned? 

 

“The Biden administration is working on creating a set of standards for people to prove they’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to an administration official,” CNN reported a few days ago. “The official said they’re currently working with a range of companies on the standards … Multiple government agencies are engaged in conversations and planning, coordinated by the White House, as this kind of system will play a role in multiple aspects of life, including potentially the workforce.”

 

In layman’s, that means the White House is taking a leadership role in helping — “helping” — companies develop a vaccine passport system that will stand the test of court scrutiny. It won’t be federally mandated — technically. But it will be federally developed and enforced by the private sector.

 

The same private sector that isn’t held to the same constitutional binds as the government.

 

What a profitable partnership for the leftists in government who lust for control and power. They can get their control freak on while still maintaining plausible deniability. Who, me? It’s the private sector mandating this — not the kindly gents and ladies in Alfred E. Neuman’s World of Good Governance. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/apr/6/oligarchy-is-coming-and-america-is-in-the-crosshai/

Many others have been sounding the alarm. Let me feature a few of them. Jeff Crouere speaks about how Cornell University and other schools are making vaccines mandatory. He goes on to say this:

The vaccine requirements will not be limited to colleges and universities. Soon, the leading corporations in the country may require a vaccine for their employees to work in office settings. Such vaccine passports may also be required to fly or to attend special events such as concerts and athletic contests.

 

The concept of vaccine passports should horrify Americans, regardless of their personal stance on the issue. As Americans, we should have the freedom to either take the vaccine or not.

 

While older Americans may feel more vulnerable and want to take the vaccine, others should be able to refuse it for whatever reason. Some Americans might not trust the government or the pharmaceutical companies; others may have read online reports about serious side-effects, including deaths, that have occurred after taking the vaccine. In America, we should have the right to say “no,” especially on issues regarding our personal health….

 

U.S. representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is the first to act in Congress. She introduced legislation entitled the “We Will Not Comply Act.” The purpose of this bill is to “ban vaccine ‘passports,’ prevent discrimination against the unvaccinated, and much more to protect the freedom of the American people.” Rep. Taylor Greene is showing more courage than the vast majority of her Republican Party colleagues in the House or Senate.

 

Vaccine passports are the definition of medical tyranny. The entire idea is Orwellian and dangerous. It is what would be expected in a country ruled by a tyrannical government, not in a constitutional republic. Even liberal author Naomi Wolf understands the dangers that vaccine passports represent. She says that if these plans are implemented, it will mean “the end of human liberty in the West.” https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/04/vaccine_passports_to_hell.html

Writing from the UK, Josie Appleton puts it this way:

The vaccine passport is the nadir of ‘permission slip’ officialdom. It means that before you can go to the cinema, or a concert, or a football match, or perhaps even to work, you must first have obtained official clearance. Every person is declared a risk to others until they have proof that they have been tested or vaccinated.

 

The vaccine passport means that participating in civic life is not a right, something every citizen can do without having to prove anything to anybody. Instead, it can only be done with official clearance. There are conditions, there is a barrier of entry; papers must be shown at the entrance of the nightclub.

 

With the full rollout of vaccine passports, as seen in Israel, those without a ‘green pass’ are thrown out of their gyms or choirs and cannot enter many public places. In China, those without the Covid ‘green code’ on their smartphones cannot enter the supermarket or go on the subway.

 

It becomes a constant obligation of every citizen to obtain a Covid green status and show that he or she is Covid-secure. The person who is not regularly vaccinated or tested is marked out as a danger to others, and his or her permission to participate in civic life is revoked.

 

This means that citizenship becomes a provisional thing. There are certain conditions of entry today but tomorrow they may change, by a simple change in the app. In China, people have a green, amber or red status on their phone, which can be changed suddenly without warning….

 

People may think that a vaccine passport is a small price to pay for certain practical freedoms, but this is a dangerous bargain. Agreeing to the vaccine passport means that you have sold your freedom. You may be able to go to the pub but this will be a privilege and not a right. The vaccine status check on the door is not a formality; it tells you that your right to go to the pub, to participate in civic life, has been taken away, and you can enter only with official approval. Today it is Covid, but tomorrow it might be another illness, or something else entirely.

 

Of course, it may be that Covid checks operate at borders for some time to come, and that you have a Covid passport to go alongside your real passport. But this is crossing a border, a time when we always revoke some of our rights to citizenship. The rights of a citizen or resident within their own country should be an entirely different matter.

 

A common argument against vaccine passports is that they create a ‘second-class’ citizenry, who for medical or other reasons are unable to prove their ‘Covid-secure’ status. There would be two lines of people, two sets of rules, two different sets of rights. This is a real concern. It is also the case that vaccine passports violate medical ethics, pressuring people to undergo a medical procedure in order to participate in civic life.

 

But the larger point is that vaccine passports will have changed the nature of citizenship and freedom for all citizens, including those with Covid green status. It would be the final victory for ‘permission slip’ officialdom; it would revoke any presumed rights of citizens to participate in civic life. We would have sold our freedom for a measly price, and would find out the consequences of this deal in the months and years ahead. https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/04/07/why-we-must-oppose-vaccine-passports/

And Emily Mangiaracina notes just how widespread and pervasive these are becoming:

Numerous countries have either introduced vaccine passports, or are considering introducing them. Most recently, E.U. Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said the European Union’s brand-new “Digital Green Certificate” — or “sanitary certificate,” as he called it — has been approved by the 27 E.U. member states and will be released on June 15. Which activities will require the certificate, such as traveling, reportedly will be left up to the member states.

She continues:

Conservative American politicians are sounding the alarm about the future of COVID-19 vaccine passports, which have already been issued by the state of New York and are being developed by the Biden regime, as well as numerous governments and public and private organizations worldwide. “Proposals like these smack of 1940s Nazi Germany. We must make every effort to keep America from becoming a ‘show your papers society,’” Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), told Fox News. “The Constitution and our founding principles decry this type of totalitarianism.” “America faces a dangerous future when its leader’s ideology shares more commonalities with Leninism than liberalism,” he continued….

 

Donald Trump, Jr. said vaccine passports “could be the greatest affront” to “our freedoms in recent history.” “We have constitutional rights and health privacy laws for a reason,” said Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, a Republican. “They should not cease to exist in a time of crisis. These passports may start with COVID-19, but where will they end?” https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/vaccine-passports-unconstitutional-smack-of-1940s-nazi-germany-republicans

It is hoped that these voices of reason are heeded before it is too late.

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