Kansas vaccine mandate foes rally, vent anger in hearing

TOPEKA, Kan. – Hundreds of radical opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates rallied Saturday astatine the Kansas Statehouse, encouraged by Republicans who spot President Joe Biden’s policies arsenic a spur for higher turnout among blimpish voters.

The rally kicked disconnected up of a uncommon play legislative committee proceeding connected mandates that impact arsenic galore arsenic 100 cardinal Americans. The proceeding gave dozens of mandate opponents a accidental to vent their vexation and choler some with the Democratic president’s medication and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Many of the speakers during the committee’s proceeding argued that lawmakers should telephone themselves into peculiar league alternatively of waiting until 2022. Lawmakers tin bash that without Kelly if two-thirds of them motion a petition, but truthful acold specified an effort hasn’t gained overmuch traction.

“If we let this to continue, determination volition beryllium nary stopping further authorities overreach,” said Cody Foster, a inferior enactment idiosyncratic and unpaid firefighter successful cardinal Kansas.

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Meanwhile, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers rejected grounds from Cornell Beard, the president of its Wichita district, who connected Friday compared the mandates to the Holocaust that killed cardinal of Jews during World War II. A committee member, Republican Rep. Brenda Landwehr, of Wichita, appeared to hold with the comparison.

The Machinists national issued a connection Saturday saying it “strongly condemns the violative and inappropriate comparison” made by Beard.

The legislative panel's sanction — the associated Committee connected Government Overreach and the Impact of COVID-19 Mandates — signals that Republicans successful the GOP-controlled Legislature already person concluded that the mandates interruption people’s liberties. But galore are not yet definite what powerfulness the authorities has to resist.

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The committee is expected to urge steps for the Legislature to take. It opened hearings Friday, and astir everyone testifying truthful acold has powerfully opposed vaccine mandates, with immoderate repeating misinformation astir vaccine safety.

Saturday's proceeding came aft authorities Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican hoping to unseat Kelly adjacent year, announced that helium has brought Kansas into a national lawsuit against Biden's vaccine mandate for employees of authorities contractors.

The Biden medication is besides requiring vaccinations for each national workers and definite wellness attraction workers. Private employers with 100 oregon much workers volition person to necessitate them to beryllium vaccinated oregon tested weekly.

“The warfare astatine manus is the well-being of our nation, the psyche of our nation,” Republican authorities Sen. Mark Steffen, a Hutchinson anesthesiologist and pain-management doc who's promoted discredited COVID-19 conspiracy theories and dubious treatments, said astatine the commencement of Saturday's hearing.

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Republican activists and consultants crossed the state contend that absorption to vaccine mandates could make a question akin to the beverage enactment movement.

Participants successful the Statehouse rally brought Gadsden flags — which accidental amusement a coiled snake and say, “Don't tread connected me.” Speakers urged attendees to ballot for candidates who reason vaccine and disguise mandates successful Tuesday's section schoolhouse committee elections.

“If we bash not consent, we cannot beryllium governed,” authorities Rep. Pat Proctor, a Leavenworth Republican, told the crowd.

Other speakers included erstwhile Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a polarizing blimpish and vocal state of erstwhile President Donald Trump who is running for Kansas lawyer general adjacent year. A erstwhile instrumentality professor, Kobach said helium would attest astatine the committee proceeding arsenic an adept connected the U.S. Constitution.

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“This is an integrated grassroots uprising of the people,” helium said.

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Follow John Hanna connected Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna

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