Representative Roy’s bill, which is known as the Service Restoration Act, would also prevent military service members from “adverse action” because they opted not to get the jab, such as punishment, retaliation, forced mask-wearing, placement in sub-standard housing or disparate treatment.
It would also allow any service members who are reinstated to count the time that they were discharged toward their retirement benefits and expunge any adverse action that was imposed upon them over their refusal to get the vaccine from their service record.
Speaking to Breitbart News, Representative Roy said: "Because of President Biden’s power-hungry, anti-science COVID-19 vaccine mandate, hundreds of valuable American service members are being forced out of our military, taking with them years of subject-matter expertise, careers of selfless sacrifice, and lifelong dreams of military service. This is strategically foolish, profoundly un-American, and completely unacceptable.”
The bill would also prohibit federal funds from being used to require armed forces members to get the vaccine. So far, it has attracted seven cosponsors. However, the legislation’s chances of moving forward are pretty low considering the current Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.
Service members fighting to keep their positions
As of Wednesday, more than 700 service members had been discharged from the military over their refusal to get vaccinated, while thousands more are stuck in the process of appealing waiver denials.
On Thursday, a judge extended a temporary ban on punishment for a pair of officers who do not wish to get the vaccine. A Navy commander and a Marine lieutenant colonel testified on the witness stand anonymously to protect their identities. They described their religious objections to getting the vaccine, saying that as practicing Christians, they believed getting the jab would introduce impurities into their bodies. They also voiced concerns about the fetal cell lines used to research and develop the jabs.
The military, however, did not agree with their stance and denied both of them a religious exemption; they are now facing discharge if they do not get vaccinated.
The Navy commander, who is in charge of 320 sailors on board a guided missile destroyer, said: “I cannot knowingly put something in my body that I believe is a toxin.”
The 18-year veteran testified for more than hour, saying that his belief in keeping his body free of impurities extends to what he eats, watches and listens to; he also avoids medications.
The lieutenant colonel, meanwhile, said that for her, “it would be a sin” to get the jab “Because it would defile my body. Because my body is a temple of Jesus Christ.” She has a degree in biology, and she said her stance is that the jabs are not in line with her beliefs. She was stopped from deploying to Bahrain following her refusal to get jabbed. She recently recovered from COVID-19 and has natural immunity.
The two officers are now part of a lawsuit filed by the religious organization the Liberty Counsel. Last week, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday issued a temporary order that bans the military from disciplining the officers; the temporary order was extended until February 18 at the end of yesterday’s day-long hearing.
Unfortunately, the military seems unlikely to back down on its enforcement of the vaccine mandate. Department of Justice Attorney Amy Powell said: “We would rather people not be in the military than place other service members at risk.”
It’s a weak argument, however, when you consider the fact that vaccinated people are just as capable of spreading the disease as those who are unvaccinated.
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