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Lt. Col. Edward Stapanon, a Catholic instructor pilot at the 435th Fighter Training Squadron in Texas, said he requested retirement twice but was turned down because he hasnt finished out an extension of his active duty service commitment that ends in 2024. Court Delivers Win to Military Members Denied Religious Exemptions From Pentagon Vaccine Mandate, SCOTUS 101: Student Loans and Major Questions, Unpacking the Oral Arguments Against Bidens Student Loan Cancellation, Appeals Court Steals Show on ERA Amid Senate Panels Bid to Resurrect Dead Amendment, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments. Federal judge temporarily halts Air Force's COVID-19 vaccine mandate And in fact, he said, the exemption process is fraught in and of itself. The Biden Administration has previously admitted that it is not the federal government's role to enforce vaccine mandates. COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Air National Guard spurs Oklahoma lawsuit And then if you come back and you say, oh, no, but my exemption is a medical exemption [see Contraindications and Precautions]not a religious exemption, then the military says, Oh, well, in that case, we welcome you with open arms. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. Hes one of the attorneys representing the airmen challenging the mandate, and he spoke more to Jared Serbu on theFederal Drive with Tom Temin. And well be back week after week.. Biden appointee behind unlawful military vaccine mandate to step down. And so of course, that means you have to bring different lawsuits on behalf of people, depending on what branch of the military that theyre in. Biden sued by Air Force officers who compare vaccine - Ars Technica And they recognize that theres almost a presumption of belief. Total exemptions granted in the Air Force included about 1,500 temporary medical exemptions and 2,300 administrative waivers, which includes the nine religious approvals. Several lawsuits have been filed by sailors opposing the mandate and challenging the Navy's approach to reviewing the religious exemption requests. Attorneys for the unvaccinated Navy personnel argued in briefs to the 5th Circuit that Austins memo and other Defense Department actions show that the Navy still intends to treat unvaccinated personnel like second-class citizens because of their religious beliefs.. Overall, scientific evidence indicates that the benefits of vaccines largely . The quickest vaccine ever developed was for mumps. Mike Barry is senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal group that focuses on religious liberty issues. Their lawyers have called a sham with applications being categorically denied., The Defense Department denied the process was onerous and said the Navy has a compelling interest in requiring vaccinations for personnel who often operate for long periods in confined spaces that are ripe breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses.. And, in fact, the Department of Defense allows medical exemptions and administrative exemptions from the vaccine. The Navy has, however, granted medical exemption requests submitted by other personnel. The . "I am proud of the efforts the Department of the Army has taken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic," Wormuth said. WASHINGTON The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the. It is a danger of, you know, the government saying, Well, hey, heres what your faith tradition teaches, you should follow that, " Griffin said. A federal judge in Cincinnati has expanded a temporary exemption to a Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine mandate to cover thousands of service members in the U.S. Air Force and Space Force,. The lawsuit also fails to mention an established precedent regarding vaccines in religious traditions. Kevin Stitt has pushed back on the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the military that would apply to the Oklahoma National Guard. Jared Serbu: Yeah, theres a ton. Feb. 23, 2023. Plaintiffs sincerely held religious beliefs that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and that they are to glorify God with their bodies lays the foundation for everything they do, consume, or inject into their bodies, according to the Florida lawsuit. On Tuesday, a federal judge granted an injunction against discipline of an Air Force officer whose religious exemption had been denied. Kevin Stitt with Fox News ads Lawyers are waiting to see if a federal court in Georgia will stop the vaccine mandate nationwide through another class-action preliminary injunction as well. The judge agreed, issuing an injunction against discipline for the sailors on Jan. 3. 16Jan23 FAA's Feeble Lie Denying the Hack That Grounded ALL Brazil's Emerging Judicial Dictatorship A 5th Circuit panel rejected the Biden administrations request to block the judges order. The policy does allow commanders to "implement Health Protection Measures at any time or manner deemed necessary in support of operational safety and effectiveness." In his order, OConnor granted an injunction against the Biden administration and the Department of Defense, preventing them from enforcing the vaccine mandate against any of the named service members who had applied for a religious exemption. The temporary restraining order means the military cannot punish airmen and Space Force guardians whose application for a religious exemption to one of the federally endorsed vaccines was denied or is still being processed. All rights reserved. So thats usually unwise, and so practitioners who are in front of the Supreme Court frequently like us, we usually know not to do that. Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. But it may not take a lawsuit for the issue to change the environment when it comes to mandatory vaccination. And both lawsuits include arguments that the plaintiffs prayed on the issue and came to the conclusion that vaccination would violate their principles. The Navy already denied these exemptions, but O'Connor. Its just under 4,100. And our clients are, theyre stationed in various locations, quite a few of them are here in Texas. While it allowed service members to apply for religious exemptions to the mandate, it has not granted a single one. Theres a case to be made for turning these lawsuits into class action matters, Staver said, so that individual service members dont have to sue or just another case. Each week, Defense Reporter Jared Serbu speaks with the managers of the federal government's largest department. The plaintiffs argue that violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment. The Texas lawsuit argues that the Navy Department is blanketly denying all religious requests, making the process a sham. Law firms Latham & Watkins LLP Follow Siri & Glimstad LLP (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, facing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking a vast trove of data. And what if this is political ideology masquerading as as religious piety? DOD Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., Im happy to take that one from you. In December, the Air Force announced it had discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID . She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. Federal judge expands exemption to military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate Navy COVID-19 Vaccine Separations Drop as Injunction Takes Hold Judge Matthew McFarlands decision brings the case, Doster v. Kendall, closer to trial as a class-action lawsuit. 16 Service Members Sue to Halt DoD's Vaccine Order | Military.com Just because the plaintiffs identify as a member of one religion or another doesnt mean they need to follow every tradition, according to Griffin, the former Coast Guard lawyer, nor would they need to justify why they are religiously opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine in particular. A vaccine lawsuit is filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, instead of regular state or federal courts like other drug injury claims. Sarah Parshall Perry is a senior legal fellow for the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. (U.S. Navy) Two service members filed a class action lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to halt a mandate that all troops receive the coronavirus vaccine and create an exemption. Theyre not pleasant. msn back to msn home news Skip To Navigation The Department of the Air Force, which also issues guidance for the Space Force, has detailed it will be rescinding letters of admonishment, counseling or reprimand; records of individual counseling; nonjudicial punishments; and current involuntary discharge proceedings connected to vaccine refusal. The lawsuit, in which 14 men and two women serving in the military are named as plaintiffs, names U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, three U.S. military service secretaries and other. "We are grateful for the support of the Legislature and the Governor in the State's efforts to block the . The next stop in the litigation is likely to be an appeal by the Department of Defense and the Biden administration to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The content of this website reflects the current thinking of the United States Department of Health and Human Services on the topics addressed and does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind the Department or the public. There is no military exclusion from our Constitution. Members face the same injury: violation of their constitutional freedom by defendants clear policy of discrimination against religious accommodation requests, wrote McFarland, of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio.