The Seattle Fire Department appears to be facing staff shortages over them, and Twila Brase, a registered nurse and president/co-founder of Citizens' Council for Health Freedom, is not surprised.
"As soon as you try to force people to do something that is against their rights, against their will, against their free choice, then you should not be surprised when a certain number of them say 'no' and they leave," she tells AFN.
Andy Pittman is one of the former Seattle firefighters who refused the COVID shots. The six-year veteran recently told "Fox & Friends First" that Seattle is gambling with the lives of its citizens by continuing with this mandate.
"It's been shown before that one to two units out of service can have a pretty significant impact in the growth of a fire," he relayed. "Fires are growing at a much more rapid rate, so we have an even smaller amount of time to make a rapid response and get the fire out and rescue victims. So, it's very imperative that they start to play by the rules and act with integrity, which they haven't up until this point."
When asked whether he would go back to being a firefighter if Seattle would let him work without a COVID shot, Pittman said, "Absolutely."
"This is something that every fire department and every hospital should be thinking about as a way to get their staffing levels up to normal," adds Brase. "They should leave these vaccine mandates and give people back their freedom and their right to work.
Standing up to Biden's 'seek-and-destroy mission'
As for employers, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) maintains that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cannot force them to violate their faith.
As HHS is considering a rule that could force employers to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives and early abortion pills, in violation of their religious or moral beliefs, ADF recently submitted a public comment.
"It is not acceptable for our federal government to go on a seek-and-destroy mission for the consciences of Americans who are just trying to operate their businesses consistent with their deeply held beliefs," says attorney Matt Bowman.
Lawsuits are a possibility if HHS moves ahead with the proposed rule.
"The normal timeframe would have them finalizing this rule and potentially taking away protections for the rights of conscience sometime later this year," Bowman explains.
Though no specific date has been set, ADF will be paying attention for when the rules come out to make sure that people of faith and of deep moral conviction can have their voices heard and, if necessary, go to court to protect their conscience rights.
