The “Discrimination” Intimidation

If you think service members no longer have Constitutional rights because they “signed on the dotted line,” just move along. 

How about this for an idea, all religious accommodation requests are unconstitutional. And the Covid 19 vaccination requirement was a violation of equal access and free exercise. Additionally, since the Covid 19 (and all other vaccines according to the FDA) are not required to prevent infection or transmission, there is no undue burden on the military to deny any accommodation request it receives. Some recent court cases will hopefully wake up some of the slumbering lawyers and get some fire in their britches. 

So let’s get into it! Looking at the numbers, in 2021 there were approximately 135,000 Covid 19 infections and in 2022 there were approximately 150,000 infections. And the majority of deaths due to Covid were during the months that the military was experiencing the highest rate of vaccination. So what is the undue burden to the military to deny an accommodation? Has anyone asked how many of those with a pending religious accommodation were hospitalized, infected or died compared to those that received the vaccine? And when will the DoD make this information public? 

As it stands, I am increasingly exhausted by those that are inconsistent in their principles. Screeing about discrimination after supporting the most discriminatory practices I have witnessed in my lifetime a la Covid 19. Luckily, there have been a few rulings out of the Supreme Court lately that could provide more background moving forward. Public Accommodation v. Free Exercise, and the case of 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis and the Cost of Religious Accommodations in the case of Geoff v. Dejoy Postmaster General. 

In short, the owner of 303 Creative LLC made the argument that her business product (website design) reflected her speech, and that creating websites that “contradicted biblical truths” were antithetical to her religious beliefs. And because of Colorado’s public accommodation laws she was being coerced to comply with the States approved “expression” thus violating her First Amendment right to free speech. 

Another equally important case which was also ruled on, Groff V. DeJoy, PostMaster General, encapsulate the true “cost” of accommodation. In this case the court determined that impact on co workers is not an undue burden if there are alternatives to the request e.g. shift swaps (and other stuffs). The court clarified that it was not a minimal cost that would allow an employer to deny an accommodation but rather an undue burden legally defined as “action requiring significant difficulty or expense.”

With a little bit of precedent being laid, I’ll do what I do best, lets explore how Covid and the vaccination status of individuals was a much more discriminatory practice than someone not wanting to bake a cake for a wedding with a gay couple or design a website for the same or have off work on Sundays. 

So were there medical and religious reasons that many people did not get vaccinated? Yes. Therefore, when restaurants and other facilities defined under Title 42 were asking you to prove your vaccination status in order to enter their facilities, they were violating the free exercise and equal access clause, “any restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain, or other facility principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises.” All of which exists on military installations, and all of which had stipulations to access during “the worst pandemic in 100 years.” 

If I was exercising my freedom of religion or protecting my medical privacy, I was not allowed in such places. And this was not just the act of a private business, this was at the issuance of orders from the government officials. Since I was living in the DC metro area at this time I will use DC as a reference. The government at this highest echelons was applauding the direct violations of its citizens rights with the goal on continuing violations e.g. the Covid 19 EUA vaccine mandates and getting a shot in every arm. Yes, yes they were indeed EUA mandates. 

So what if I couldn’t have the vaccine for religious or medical reasons? Do these businesses not fall under the equal access. Relating this back to the military lets remember some of the more infuriating practices they exhibited; denying family members access to basic training graduations hosted outdoors in non-restricted areas if the soldier or family members were unvaccinated, requiring vaccination status at military installation Post Exchanges or Commissaries and recreation facilities, restricting travel, using troops to report on others for “violations” imposed by Commanding Generals. 

This is why Covid policies were such a detrimental attack on our freedoms. They were intimidating the populace with egregious acts that violated our laws and our Constitutional rights. This was heavily prevalent in the ranks of the military, but every citizen was a victim of these practices and I hope one day they’ll care as much as they should. 

It is my opinion that the mere act of a “Religious Accommodation request” is unconstitutional on its face. Why do I need to get permission to free exercise of religion? Section 12 of the Equal Opportunity Compliance Manual states, “Like the religious nature of a belief, observance, or practice, the sincerity of an employee’s stated religious belief is usually not in dispute and is “generally presumed or easily established.”

However, in the military this was not the case when it came the Covid 19 vaccine mandate. Many service members were relieved of their duties after being denied medical and religious accommodation requests, and ultimately have not been provided recourse. The free exercise is not free when it has to be granted by someone else. The public accommodation no longer exists if I must show you my papers to prove my cleanliness. And the undue burden must be exhaustive, but so far has not be adequately documented. 

But as a parting note I wonder, what is the undue burden and cost to the military for overweight and undeployable vaccinated personnel? Anyone Anyone? 

Who knows, maybe that’s just the extremist in me talking. According to the military I mean.