Republican Super-Majority- What is it good for... Absolutely Nothin!

For the past couple weeks Hoosiers for Medical Liberty has been working to figure out a way to protect Hoosiers from Immunity Passports. We finally had our chance, and the House of Representatives REFUSED to vote on Medical Liberty though they had multiple opportunities to do so.

You may have received our calls to action regarding the amendments that Representative Jacob & Representative Nisly would hopefully be presenting. You all did such an amazing job that the house could feel you watching. They know we will not back down. In a weak attempt to appear as if they were taking action several medical liberty amendments were prepared, but they fell far short of those filed by Representative Nisly & Representative Jacob. Ultimately, when it came down to the wire and the house was about to be forced to take a stand on Medical Liberty they refused to take the vote.

If this bothers you, I encourage you to pick up the phone and tell your State Representative “I will not accept a weak stance on Medical Liberty. You must make a principled ban on immunity passports including vaccination status and invasive testing. It would benefit you take a moment to find a way to do it this year.”

Utter Frustration.

That is the single best way to describe how I am feeling in relation to the events that occurred at the Indiana State House yesterday. Indiana currently has a “republican super-majority.” Prior to this year I wouldn’t have had any idea what that meant. In short, it means that the Republicans can make laws without any of the Democratic vote.

There is absolutely no reason that a new law ushering in the immunity passport purge shouldn’t have been created before they hit the streets of Indiana. Instead, the Indiana House of Representatives refused to do so. I watched in disgust as the scene unfolded. House session started at 11:00 am when concurrences were read and then recess was called. Recess was lunch and caucus. The House session did not resume until nearly 5:30pm. You have to ask yourself WHY.

The “WHY” is probably one of the things that has been most disturbing to me as I learned about Indiana politics. The “why” is the Republican Caucus where government happens behind closed doors, out of the view of the voters, and bathed in corruption.

So let’s break down what we saw. I will cut straight to the portion pertaining to Medical Liberty. SB325 was brought up with multiple amendments to be heard. Several amendments on the bill addressed Medical Liberty. Only two of them would be addressed.

Representative Brad Barrett (R), presented a weak amendment that would prohibit a business from requiring someone to disclose if they had a COVID vaccination prior to entry and carrying a penalty of up to $10,000. The House watched as several people came up and questioned Rep. Barrett. It was difficult to tell if Rep. Barrett even believed in the amendment he presented. I encourage you to watch it for yourself and decide if he really had any intention of defending his amendment. Interestingly, after the charade but BEFORE a vote could be taken the amendment was ruled “out of order.” Meaning that the amendment did not apply to the overall bill and it was discarded. Ask yourself WHY they waited until after they had heard all the arguments against the amendment? Perhaps they wanted to show how “difficult” or “controversial” the issue was? Who knows.

If you watch, you will see a stark contrast from the respect shown to Representative Barrett as compared to when State Representative Curt Nisly attempted to present his amendment. If Rep Nisly’s amendment had gone through, Hoosier policy would have prevented any establishment from requiring proof of vaccination OR invasive testing prior to entry and violation would result in a class A misdemeanor.

Representative Nisly was truly representing the immunity passport purge. Leadership does not want to give you the protection you deserve. Representative Nisly barely got out a full sentence before getting cut off and being called out of order. Representative Nisly bravely stood his ground, challenged the ruling, and was sharply interrupted while he attempted to share how the amendment was pertinent to the bill. It was interesting because his first line was regarding the New Albany Hospital restricting birth support persons based on vaccination status. Ultimately the rest of the house, with the exception of Representative John Jacob, decided they would not hear the amendment.

Senate Bill 197 was also on the schedule for the day.  This bill held an equally strong amendment written by Representative John Jacob. Leadership had heard your calls Monday. They knew how important the immunity passport purge was, but rather than giving Rep. Jacob the opportunity to speak or rather REPRESENT YOU, they chose to kill the bill creating new criminal law. Your calls put them in a position in which they could not stand the thought of going on record and voting against medical liberty or creating policy that would ensure your Medical Liberty was protected.

I know this was a long post. I know that it can be very confusing trying to figure out what happens down in Indy. it is overwhelming to say the least. I hope that by walking through the events of the day a couple things have been made clear, but invite you to watch for yourself.

1. Your calls matter. Your Voice was heard.
2. We must not back down and we must continue to consistently communicate with the legislature. Once it is realized that we will not relent and we will be represented the way we see fit, we will have policy.

Please take this moment to call your legislator and tell them:

“I will not accept a weak stance on Medical Liberty. You must make a principled ban on immunity passports including vaccination status and invasive testing. It would benefit you take a moment to find a way to do it this year.”

Thank you for all your support and dedication to the cause. We must do our best to educate others about their rights. Please join us for our meeting tomorrow night.

Your friend,
Ashley