The Kenai Peninsula Borough deliberated Resolution 2021-067 Tuesday night, which would declare the Kenai Peninsula Borough an inclusive community where citizens are treated equally and empowered with free choice.
The resolution relates to the COVID-19 vaccine in that, if passed, the assembly and administration wouldn’t support government mandated restrictions imposing mandated COVID-19 vaccine segregation in the community. It says that citizens have the right to choose to not get a COVID-19 vaccination based on religious, medical, or personal reasons. The item was pulled from the consent agenda, which allowed for the public to comment on the resolution.
Most of the comments echoed similar sentiment to what the resolution said, but it didn’t take long for some members of the public to make their frustrations known.
Steve Carlson of Kenai said:
“I’ve heard a lot of belittling and arrogance and pride and you know, what side is coming from, it’s only coming from the pro vaccination side. Every time, ‘ooh, we’re the only ones that know science.’ Do you know how many forms of medicine there are out there? I encourage them, all who are, if they are even listening, to actually acknowledge that you don’t know everything. You weren’t taught everything. The CDC is not God. They don’t know everything either. Neither does the WHO. No one knows everything. Knowing that, you need to open up your mind.”
Assemblyman Richard Derkevorkian:
“I just wanted to speak to the resolution. Being that I’m a cosponsor of this, I obviously don’t believe in government mandates. I’ve said it earlier today during committee and I’ll say it again tonight. Less government is the best government. This is a simple decision for me. You’re either on team America, the land of the free, and you can join me on the record opposing government mandates or you can align with tyrants and governments like Australia. The same government that won’t allow its citizens to go further than five kilometers from their house. If you’re okay with the government forcing you to inject your friends, neighbors, and families with the vaccine, I want to ask the members of this assembly that oppose this resolution, where do you draw the line? I’m going on the record as being opposed to government mandates and will be voting in support of this resolution tonight.”
Assembly President Brent Hibbert said:
“I’m really having a problem with this. For one, this resolution, we have zero teeth in this. We do not have the powers to implement this, to make this work. It’s just words. I think it has divided us even more.”
Assemblyman Jesse Bjorkman, one of the cosponsors, said that the assembly didn’t have the votes to pass it and motioned to table the ordinance. The motion passed by a 5 to 3 vote.
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