Over 20 states have joined an amicus brief supporting members of the US Navy who refused Covid jabs due to religious objections.
In an amicus curiae brief filed in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Monday, the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming expressed support for the seafaring servicemembers to cite religious freedom as grounds to reject the military’s forcible inoculations.
“The amici States have a powerful interest in holding true the balance between pursuing important state interests and protecting sincerely held religious beliefs,” the filing states. “Respect for policymakers’ judgments should not be permitted to mask abuse of religious freedom.”
The case stems from a lawsuit filed Nov. 9, 2021, by 26 Navy SEALs, five Navy Special Warfare crewmen and three divers claiming the Biden administration violated their civil rights when it refused to honor their religious objections to its unconstitutional vaccine edict.
The Biden administration in turn attempted to defer the matter to the judgement of military professionals, which the amici States say should be discounted in light of the various recent legal challenges to Covid rules and mandates.
“In the past year, courts have recognized the overreaching and flawed claims of legal authority underlying the Administration’s response to the pandemic, the tension between its policies and the facts, and its inconsistent statements and actions that undercut its claims of good faith,” the states wrote. “These recurring features of the Administration’s response undermine its claim to deference here.”