OKLAHOMA CITY
Last week, we published an article raising the alarm as Mercy and SSM joined the radical call to create vaccination mandates for their employees. This prompted Representative Sean Roberts (R-Hominy) and 19 other Oklahoma House Representatives to sign a letter to Governor Stitt requesting that he issue an Executive Order banning vaccine mandates or call the legislature to a special session to address this egregious transgression on Oklahoman’s civil liberties. The entire letter can be seen here: Sen Warren Hamilton Letter to Stitt
At 2:19 PM Monday, the Veterans Administration announced that it would require COVID-19 vaccination mandates for its employees. The Secretary of the VA, Denis McDonough, announced
“…he will make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for Title 38 VA health care personnel including physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, registered nurses, physician assistants, expanded-function dental auxiliaries and chiropractors who work in Veterans Health Administration facilities, visit VHA facilities or provide direct care to those VA serves.”
McDonough continues by stating,
“Whenever a Veteran or VA employee sets foot in a VA facility, they deserve to know that we have done everything in our power to protect them from COVID-19. With this mandate, we can once again make and keep that fundamental promise.”
Like the other hospitals in the area, McDonough cites the Delta Variant and its transmissibility as the primary reason for the requirement. However, the news release did say for those employees that wished to receive the vaccine that it would be free of charge to them and that they would also receive 4 hours of “paid administrative leave. Though it speaks of what they will provide for those employees who wish to receive the vaccine, it fails to mention whether the employees will be offered exemptions or what the punishment will be if they do not comply.
Ignite Liberty reached out for a comment regarding the requirement, explicitly asking for rules on exemption and penalty. Bobbi Gruner, Deputy Director of the Dallas Regional Public Affairs Office, stated that they did not have any further information besides the news release.
The Senate Joins The Fight
This afternoon, GOP Senators have drafted a letter similar to that of Rep. Roberts. The letter written by Sen. Warren Hamilton (R-McCurtain) gained transaction last week at the Town Hall where approximately 600 Oklahomans signed onto the letter. Additionally, over the previous week, approximately 300-400 Oklahomans have emailed their Representatives and Senators stating that they support and want to sign the letter. In total, Sen. Hamilton estimated there to be between 1,000-1,200 Oklahoman signatures that include several other senators.
In the letter, Hamilton and the undersigned asked the Governor to use his executive authority “in accordance with the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma to call a special session of the Oklahoma legislature for the purpose of prohibiting mandatory “vaccinations”.
The letter goes on to cover the comments that the Biden Administration has made about the vaccine,
“We have all seen the Biden administration inform Americans that a government official is going to go door to door “to convince you to take the “vaccine””. This is a violation of our State and Federal Constitutions. The people of Oklahoma expect us to use our office or position of influence to protect their rights.”
As we know, with the addition of the VA to the list of healthcare agencies, there are now thousands of healthcare professionals at risk of losing their job if they refuse the vaccine. Despite what the mainstream media may tell you, the vaccine is not without risk. Sen. Hamilton outlines this in the letter asserting,
“The vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports almost 12,000 deaths from this “vaccine” alone from December 2020 until now. It is essential to note that this number is for the COVID vaccine ONLY and that the total number of deaths from all other vaccines combined from 2009-2019 is 1,529.”
This sentiment is the same between every representative and senator that Ignite Liberty has spoken to over the last week. They are not anti-vaccine; they are anti forcing someone to take something that is killing thousands of Americans and has not received any long-term studies.
When asked why he thought it was important to draft the letter, he replied that the sovereignty of Oklahoman’s body was at stake and that he felt compelled to do something about it. He continued by saying, “you cannot put something that I don’t want in my body whether ingestion or injection,” and if you force someone to do it, then it is a violation of their rights.
Senators Express Their Support
Ignite Liberty spoke with multiple Oklahoma State Senators about their stance on the vaccine mandates and what it really means for Oklahomans. Sen. David Bullard praised Rep. Sean Roberts for his letter, saying that it was a “great idea” and “very well done”. Bullard advised that he believes that there is a bill already in the progress of being written and that it will be ready in the off chance that the Governor does call a special session.
When asked about the likelihood of this, Bullard said that a priority should be getting the party leadership, the Speaker and Pro Tempore to call the special session as they have the power to do so. When asked if he believes that the leadership would call a special session after reviewing the bill? He replied that he believes that they will “if the bill is written well”.
Ignite Liberty also spoke with Sen. Shane Jett, who said that he “enthusiastically endorses” the letter written by Rep. Roberts. He further stated that he had been one of the senators that signed onto and endorsed the letter that Sen. Hamilton had drafted.
During the conversation, Senator Jett expressed his disapproval of the Senate leadership refusing to hear SB 2335 which would have banned businesses from requiring their employees to receive the vaccine. Stating, “when a senator or representative takes it upon themselves to represent the private sector of business at the expense of their own constituents, then they become a taxpayer-funded lobbyist and have perverted their mandates”.
Jett made it clear that the role of government is to represent the taxpayer, not corporations or businesses. Jett stated that the FDA has only given Emergency Approval for all the COVID-19 Vaccinations and nothing further. This is because the vaccine has not had any long-term studies. Therefore, those that are receiving the vaccination are the long-term study. He dissents against the healthcare companies and doctors because they violate their own code by forcing people to receive the vaccination against their will.
Citing the Nuremberg Code of 1947, which explicitly states that experiments cannot be conducted on humans without their consent, Jett made it clear that coercing them by threatening their job does NOT meet the consent requirements outlined in the 1st Tenant of that code.
1st Tenant of the Nuremberg Code:
“The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision.”
Sen. Rob Standridge (R-Norman), the author of SB658 last session which outlawed vaccine passports, spoke to Ignite Liberty saying that he also has signed onto the letter written by Sen. Hamilton. When asked his thoughts on the vaccine mandates and what the response should be, he responded, “the vaccine is still under emergency authorization, I cannot imagine a healthcare system making a mandate on something that is still experimental”.
When asked his thoughts on a special session happening, he said he “will be surprised if a legislative session happens but welcomes it if was to happen.” He did add, however, that the legislature will be back in session in October for redistricting and spoke of “possibly adding that to it”.
Ignite Liberty will continue to monitor and update you on the impacts these letters will have and the traction that they gain at the State Capitol.
– Jonathan Hewitt