Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is leading an effort to urge the Biden administration to grant religious exemptions to the coronavirus vaccine mandate to members of the Coast Guard.
Boebert sent a letter on Wednesday, co-signed by 17 additional Republican lawmakers, to President Joe Biden, Department of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan that said:
To date, [the U.S. Coast Guard] has received over 1,200 religious exemption requests and has only accepted 12, amounting to a 99% denial rate. This blanket denial of religious accommodation is a clear violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). While this administration chooses to prioritize the USCG’s new focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, it is also denying servicemembers their most fundamental First Amendment right: the free exercise of religious belief.
It noted that Biden himself said “the pandemic is over,” and on August 12, the CDC’s own updated guidance removes the distinction between unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals exposed to COVID-19 and states the COVID-19 vaccine does not prevent transmission or contraction.
Boebert’s letter comes after Biden personally thanked Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Zach Loesch for rescuing citizens trapped during Hurricane Ian while planning to discharge him because he is unvaccinated due to religious objections.
Boebert said in a statement:
Petty Officer Second Class Zach Loesch is an American hero, and he deserves to be treated as such. Due to the vaccine mandate, his rescue mission responding to Hurricane Ian may be his last, as he is set to be involuntary discharged in 30 to 60 days. The federal government’s failure to respect religious freedom and allow these exemptions is causing the military to lose talented individuals like Petty Officer Loesch. It’s time to end these mandates and support our troops’ religious freedom!
Loesch has told Breitbart News previously:
If I had asked any of the people I saved yesterday if they wanted to come with me even though I am unvaccinated, every single one of them would have said ‘yes.’ … . It just sucks that [Biden] thanked me yet the vaccine mandate is what’s kicking me out. I just love my job, and I’m really good at it. It sucks. I feel like this is the job that I was born to do.
Biden had personally called Loesch after he saved more than a dozen people during rescue missions, after Florida was struck hard by Hurricane Ian. During one rescue mission, he kicked through a wall to rescue a wheelchair-bound woman and her husband.
However, since he is unvaccinated, he is due to be separated from the Coast Guard within 30 to 60 days. He filed a religious accommodation request but was denied. His appeal was also denied.
Signers of Boebert’s letter include: Reps. Chip Roy (TX), Bill Posey (FL), Jeff Duncan (SC), Brian Mast (FL), Troy Nehls (TX), Doug Lamborn (CO), Ralph Norman (SC), Andy Biggs (AZ), Randy Weber (TX), Diana Harshbarger (TN), Dan Bishop (NC), Mary Miller (IL), Paul Gosar (AZ), Tom Tiffany (WI), Matt Gaetz (FL), and Michael Guest (MS).
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