Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is moving on up in the American political world and growing a little bigger in his britches by the week.
DeSantis is a Republican, surely, with a pretty solid libertarian streak running through him as of late, and particularly in regard to the coronavirus pandemic and the government’s response – the latter of which being of more concern to him.
And so, as any up-and-coming GOP hopeful would do, DeSantis has catered to the anti-vaccine crowd, given the amount of overlap there is within the MAGA Movement – a voting demographic he’ll need going forward.
That means that, in Florida, it is now technically illegal for a business to require proof of vaccination from their customers.
Norwegian Cruise Lines was not entertained.
On Tuesday, the company sued Scott Rivkees, the surgeon general of Florida, over the state’s ban against businesses asking for proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, per the Wall Street Journal. Norwegian plans on requiring vaccination for all passengers and crew, including kids, when it starts up its cruises to the Caribbean on Aug. 15, and the suit notes Rivkees is the state official in charge of enforcing the ban.
The cruise line calls its complaint a “last resort” against the “misguided intrusion” of a state law that bars the use of vaccine passports in Florida, per CNN. A rep for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office says the cruise line’s move would unfairly single out those who can’t get vaccinated for health reasons, can’t yet get their jabs (ie, kids), or won’t get vaccinated for religious or conscience-based reasons.
That rep would go on to torch the cruise line.
“Apparently Norwegian prefers the shackles of the CDC to the freedom offered by Florida,” the rep says, referring to CDC guidelines that set a 95% vaccination rate for passengers and crew. “This administration will not tolerate such widespread discrimination.”
There are fears among many that the unvaccinated could find themselves treated as second class citizens in the coming months and years, as more businesses and government agencies begin requiring vaccinations.
