OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Several Republican lawmakers have filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of a group of U.S. Navy SEALs who have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the service branch and the military in general.
“My colleagues and I filed an amicus brief in U.S. Navy Seals v. Biden in support of 26 service members with religious objections to Biden’s vaccine mandate. Religious freedom is fundamental to every American’s liberty,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, noted on Twitter, with a link to a statement posted to his Senate website.
My colleagues and I filed an amicus brief in U.S. Navy Seals v. Biden in support of 26 service members with religious objections to Biden’s vaccine mandate.
Religious freedom is fundamental to every American’s liberty.https://t.co/wlcpHoVLW9
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) December 20, 2021
Patriot Fetch added:
About 26 Navy SEALS and several other Naval servicemen have made claims that their First Amendment rights to freedom of religion have been trampled on as their exemptions were denied. They believe that under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the First Amendment, they have a right to decline being vaccinated, especially as they have all signaled that they are willing to undergo the testing requirements in lieu of the jabs.
In addition to Cruz, Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), along with 38 members of the House of Representatives led by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), signed the amicus brief.
In the brief, the members wrote:
“Plaintiffs’ religious liberty and the government’s asserted interest in protecting our service members from COVID-19 need not be in conflict, especially where, as here, the individuals seeking an exemption are willing to adopt non-vaccination measures to protect themselves and others from the spread of COVID-19. They are only in conflict here because Defendants refuse to accommodate Plaintiffs’ religious objections even as they accommodate those who will not receive the vaccine for non-religious reasons. This violates RFRA by substantially burdening Plaintiffs’ religious beliefs without a compelling reason, and violates the First Amendment’s guarantee that government not discriminate against religion.”
[…]
“Defendants’ policies mandating that Plaintiffs be vaccinated in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs does not come close to satisfying the strictest scrutiny Congress demands in RFRA. Defendants’ vaccine mandate forces Plaintiffs—individuals who have devoted their lives to the protection of the country—to choose between following their sincerely held religious convictions and effectively being discharged, losing their calling, and destroying their financial well-being.”
[…]
“Religious freedom is fundamental to every American’s liberty, but we have seen in recent years increasing hostility among elected and appointed government officials towards those who seek to exercise that freedom. . . . That same hostility to religion is on display with Defendants’ mandate. Defendants could easily accommodate Plaintiffs and similarly situated religious individuals given that Defendants are already accommodating individuals with medical issues or who received placebos in clinical trials. They have simply chosen not to do so.”
[…]
“[T]he impact on the military and our national security strongly counsels in favor of granting a preliminary injunction. The mandate is sidelining the deployment of soldiers on whose service our country relies. If this mandate (as currently being applied or threatened) is not enjoined, these Plaintiffs cannot fulfill their pledge to serve and defend our country, even though, based upon their training and experience, these Plaintiffs, as well as others similarly situated, are some of our most qualified, equipped, and fearless soldiers. Our men and women in uniform have fought to protect the freedoms that every American, regardless of belief, enjoys. Now they ask this Court to protect their religious freedom from encroachment by the very government they have sworn to protect with their lives.”
The Biden administration’s vaccine mandates for the military, federal contractors, and private businesses with 100 or more employees have all been challenged in federal court for alleged violations of the law and the Constitution, with mixed results thus far, meaning the cases will all likely wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
