Iowa Governor Poised To Sign Vaccine Passport Ban
Rusty Weiss
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The Iowa Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that would effectively ban businesses from requiring individuals to provide a vaccine passport prior to entering.
The bill would also prohibit local governments from including a person’s vaccination status on an identification card.
The bill applies to a wide range of businesses but would not apply to health care facilities, such as hospitals or nursing homes.
Employers placing requirements on employees would also be exempt.
The Des Moines Register reports, “Businesses and governments that violate the ban could not receive state grants and contracts.”
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds tweeted she looks forward to signing a bill approved by state lawmakers to ban the use of vaccine passports in certain situations.https://t.co/CKvXJKF228
— Iowa’s News Now (@iowasnewsnow) May 7, 2021
RELATED: Report: Dizzying Array Of Various ‘Vaccine Passports’ On The Way
Republican Governor Will Sign Vaccine Passport Ban
Governor Kim Reynolds (R) tweeted that she is looking forward “to signing this important legislation into law.”
Last month Reynolds called for the state of Iowa to “take a stand” against vaccine passports.
“I strongly oppose vaccine passports, and I believe that we must take a stand as a state against them, which I intend to do either through legislation or executive action,” she said.
Reynolds also noted that vaccination should be a personal choice and suggested issuing vaccine passports would create a “two-tiered society.”
I look forward to signing this important legislation into law!https://t.co/eKIJPMIxTC
— Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) May 6, 2021
RELATED: Texas Gov. Abbott Bans ‘Vaccine Passports,’ Joining Florida Gov. DeSantis
Red States Banning Vaccine Passports
Reynolds is set to join Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in their effort to prohibit the requirement of proving one’s vaccination status to live freely.
Abbott argued that the use of such papers or electronic apps would be an unacceptable infringement on Texans’ rights, tweeting, “Don’t tread on our personal freedoms.”
Texans shouldn’t be required to show proof of vaccination & reveal private health information just to go about their daily lives.
I issued an Executive Order that prohibits government-mandated vaccine passports in Texas.
Don’t tread on our personal freedoms. pic.twitter.com/weTbz4FKyH
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 6, 2021
DeSantis concurred saying, “In Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision.”
A recent report by Axios indicates many private businesses and even some states throughout the country “are plowing ahead with methods of verifying that people have been vaccinated, despite conservative resistance to ‘vaccine passports.'”
Turns out it’s really, really easy to steal someone else’s vaccine passport using New York’s new Excelsior Pass program.
All you need to do is find one of the many unredacted vaccine card selfies floating around Twitter and you too can break the system.https://t.co/6NCo6rAOF3
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) April 8, 2021
New York, for example, launched the Excelsior Pass, a phone app that displays a digital code proving the person is vaccinated against COVID-19.
It is currently being used in dozens of venues across the state.
A recent survey indicates only 46 percent of Americans approve of requiring vaccinated people to carry their passports with them.
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