Ban vaccine mandates for travelers, NC Rep. Madison Cawthorn says in new bill
North Carolina Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn introduced legislation that would ban vaccine mandates for travel, he announced in a press release Wednesday.
The bill, called the ‘‘Let Me Travel America Act,’’ would ban the government from mandating vaccines for travel within the United States.
The legislation is unlikely to advance in either the U.S. House or the Senate, where Utah Sen. Mike Lee filed identical legislation, with Democrats in the majority in both chambers.
Still, the move is Cawthorn’s latest to publicly oppose COVID-19 related safety measures, like vaccine and mask mandates.
“Vaccine requirements for interstate travel are in direct opposition to the United States Constitution,” Cawthorn said in the release. “The Biden Administration continues to flaunt their blatant disregard for the law in pursuit of their left-wing radical agenda.”
No vaccine mandates for travel are currently in effect. President Joe Biden has proposed mandating vaccines in other settings but not for air travel, the Washington Post reported, although Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has said he would support such a mandate.
“There is no current mandate on vaccine requirements to travel by the government, but the Biden administration has not ruled it out,” said Cawthorn spokesperson Luke Ball. “As the mandates become increasingly overbearing, Congressman Cawthorn wants to ensure a vaccine requirement to travel never becomes a reality.”
Cawthorn visited some North Carolina school boards in August and September to protest mask mandates, in Buncombe County, Transylvania County and even Johnston County, which is hundreds of miles from his western congressional district, The N&O previously reported.
“Set a precedent today for freedom in the state of North Carolina,” Cawthorn said at a meeting, according to The N&O. “Defy Roy Cooper. Make masks optional. End contract tracing and end these burdensome quarantine requirements.
Cawthorn was also accused of bringing a knife to a school board meeting. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said he would not be charged.
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This story was originally published October 21, 2021 at 2:38 PM.
