Bill Description: House Concurrent Resolution 14 declares that the Legislature is opposed to forced vaccinations. 

Rating: +1

Analyst Note: House Concurrent Resolution 14 is a short resolution with two "whereas" statements and two "be it resolved" statements to oppose forced vaccines. The statements as written are positive, the "whereas" statements are true, and the "be it resolved" statements are good ideas. Unfortunately, because it is only a resolution, its passage would have minimal impact beyond possibly sending a message. If the Legislature wishes to protect the freedoms for which this resolution espouses respect, subsequent policy changes will be required.

Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

House Concurrent Resolution 14 reads as follows:

WHEREAS, it is the belief of the Legislature that immunization, vaccination, inoculation, or genetic modulation of, or the performance of medical procedures on, any person against that person's will would violate fundamental human rights and personal liberty as guaranteed by Section 1, Article I, of the Constitution of the State of Idaho; and

WHEREAS, in a free society, the integrity of personal liberty should always be protected, even during times of exigency or emergency, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session of the Sixty-sixth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that it is contrary to the policy of the State of Idaho to require, mandate, or force any person to receive any immunization, vaccination, inoculation, medical procedure, or genetic modulation against that person's will.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature shall oppose efforts by any person or entity, including the federal government, to require, mandate, or force any person to receive any immunization, vaccination, inoculation, medical procedure, or genetic modulation against that person's will.

The ideas expressed in the resolution are consistent with the principles of freedom recognized and guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the constitution of the state of Idaho. It is with some degree of optimism that we rate this bill positively, hoping that future policy changes will reflect the final statement that "the Legislature shall oppose efforts" to require vaccinations in violation of individual choice.

(+1)