Marines win lawsuit against Biden over COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Fort Worth judge decides

A federal judge in Fort Worth blocked the vaccination mandate against COVID-19 from the Department of Defense and temporarily halted the demand on members of the United States Navy.

The lawsuit against federal requirement of the Biden administration was started by a group of marines SEAL and other naval personnel who say the coronavirus vaccination mandate violates their religious freedom and have been denied religious exemptions to avoid the vaccine.

Federal District Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas signed the warrant after hearing testimony from various members of the Navy in December. The Marine group’s lawsuit is against President Joe Biden, the Department of Defense, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.

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“The members of the Navy service in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms that they have sacrificed so much to protect,” O’Connor wrote in his court decision. “The covid-19 pandemic does not grant the government any license to abrogate those freedoms. There is no covid-19 exception to the First Amendment. “

The federal mandate required all active duty military service members to be fully vaccinated by November 28 or face disciplinary action. While the Navy allows service members to apply for a religious exemption, O’Connor wrote in his order that the exemption process “by all accounts is just ‘theater.’

According to the court order, the Navy has not granted any of the religious exception requests to avoid the vaccine and denied at least 29 of the 35 requests from seafarers as of Dec. 17.

Those seeking religious exemptions are among the 0.6% of Navy members who have not received the vaccine, according to the order. Those who oppose receiving the vaccine are Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant Christians.

According to O’Connor, the Navy’s vaccination mandate causes a loss of religious freedom for those in demand.

Article by Kaley Johnson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via TNS)

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