American Family Association Helps Suspend Vaccine Mandate Enforcement for US Organizations
TUPELO, Miss. — The American Family Association (AFA, afa.net) staked out a clear position when the Biden Administration announced it was requiring firms with more than 100 employees to have their workers vaccinated: “…the mandate is not consistent with Biblical guidelines, and we will not comply.”
The Fifth Circuit issued a temporary stay of the mandate on November 6 while the court reviews the motion for a permanent injunction. Now, thanks in part to AFA’s successful request that the Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals stop the mandate, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it is suspending enforcement of the “COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large businesses.”
AFA General Counsel Abraham Hamilton III commented, “We’ve maintained from the beginning that we believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible and authoritative Word of God. It teaches us that the right of conscience is sacred and must remain inviolate. Any mandate that forces us to compel our employees, our AFA family, to be vaccinated against their wills is one that would require us to violate our family’s sacred right of conscience. That is something we cannot and will not do!
“The federal government has no authority whatsoever to compel us to intrude upon our employees’ personal health decisions and violate their sacred rights of conscience and it’s heartening to see the Biden administration and OSHA back up on this, though compelled to do so by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.”
Hamilton continued, “This mandate is an abuse of power and a textbook example of government overreach as it seeks to thrust upon us the costs for implementing this testing regime and the attendant liability for inserting ourselves into our employees’ private health decisions. We are encouraged that the appellate court took our concerns seriously and we look forward to seeing religious freedom and rights of conscience ultimately protected as this matter may finally be resolved at the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Visit AFA Action to leave public comments with OSHA.
For over 40 years, AFA has operated within the mission to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission. Founded in 1977, AFA has long been on the front lines of America’s culture war. Today, AFA is one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country, with nearly a million online supporters and approximately 160,000 subscribers to the AFA Journal, the ministry’s monthly magazine. Find AFA Action Alerts here. In addition, AFA owns and operates nearly 180 radio stations across the country under the American Family Radio banner.
View the media page for AFA here. For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or Twitter @AmericanFamAssc.
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To interview American Family Association General Counsel Abraham Hamilton III, or another AFA spokesperson, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Harrison, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.
