Is the Vaccine Mandate Unconstitutional?

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the vaccine mandate of the federal government, but it could have been the right to self-defense and the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. In both cases, the constitutional rights of Americans have been shredded by the attempt of Leftists to control American. The Rittenhouse case is an obvious case of self-defense, but Leftists are using it in attempt to take the right to self-defense away from all Americans. The vaccine mandate is an attempt to force Americans to take a substance into their bodies that they do not want. Both attempts are wrong and against the Constitution of the United States.

            Every American, “vaccinated or not, should oppose vaccine mandates,” according to an article by Virginia Allen. The Biden administration is forcing many Americans to make a difficult choice: get vaccinated or lose your job, and large numbers of Americans are walking away from the jobs. Allen described the situation in these words: 

Last week, the Biden administration issued details of its vaccine mandate. The rule, created by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, mandates employers with 100 or more employees to either require their workers to be vaccinated or to be tested for COVID-19 weekly and wear a mask.

Already, 27 states have filed lawsuits against the government, and the 5^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked the vaccine mandate, raising concerns over the legality of the order.

The question at hand is whether OSHA has the authority to issue such a sweeping vaccine mandate. Since Congress has not given OSHA that power, there are concerns that the decree is dictatorial in nature.

            Allen is not the only one saying that the federal government overstepped its authority. Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, sued the Biden administration over the mandate and claimed that the mandate is unconstitutional. The judges at the Fifth Circuit agreed that the mandate is problematic and stayed it, citing “grave statutory and constitutional issues.” Texas claimed a win even though they realize that the fight continues. According to Andrew Mark Miller at Fox Business, Paxton sent the following tweet on Friday: 

Biden’s new vaccine mandate on private businesses is a breathtaking abuse of power…. OSHA has only limited power & specific responsibilities. This latest move goes way outside those bounds. This “standard” is flatly unconstitutional. I’m asking the Court to strike it down.

            We know that Texas is not the only state suing the Biden administration to stop this vaccine mandate. We know that twenty-seven states are suing, and those suits are working their way through different circuit courts. I believe that this issue will go to the Supreme Court. The mandate is unconstitutional and should be stopped.