FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Albany, New York, November 8, 2020 – On Saturday, the New York State Bar Association passed a resolution urging the state to consider making it mandatory for all citizens to undergo COVID-19 vaccination when a vaccine becomes available, even if people object to it for “religious, philosophical or personal reasons.”
The Libertarian Party of New York responded with a statement denouncing this resolution, citing opposition to the undue force called for by the NYSBA.
“This position is not a commentary on medical science, but rather on the force the NYSBA is asking the government to exert on its citizens,” Cody Anderson, chairman of the LPNY, explained. “Everyone has the natural right to self-ownership. Regardless of how one feels about the efficacy of any potential vaccine against COVID-19, or any other virus, what one chooses to put into one’s body should be one’s personal choice, and not a government mandate. Furthermore, it is reprehensible that NYSBA, an organization tasked with defending the Constitution, not dispensing medical advice, has endorsed Governor Cuomo’s continuing assault on New Yorkers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of religion.”
The NYSBA’s statements did not specifically call out New Yorkers, but all Americans, and they were explicit in stating this. Despite this, the Libertarian Party of New York did take this as a specific attack on the personal freedom of New York citizens, especially with the governor’s willingness to previously require vaccinations in spite of medical- or religious-based objections, in the case of public or private school admission.
For more information about the Libertarian Party of New York, please visit lpny.org. You may also visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/LPNYOfficial, Twitter @LPNYOfficial, or Instagram @LPNYOfficial.
Contact:
Maria Borell
Public Engagement Chair
Libertarian Party of New York
mborell@lpny.org
866-336-3120