Monday, August 16, 2021 | DavesPaper.com
Stand Up For Medical Freedom Rally talks to
her mother, Kim Files, FNP and USAF vet.
About four hundred freedom-loving patriots and healthcare professionals lined both sides of Broadway Park in Bangor Sunday afternoon to protest Maine Governor Janet Mill’s emergency order mandating all medical personnel to be COVID-19 vaccinated by October 1 or face job termination.
On August 12, the Mills Administration announced that all healthcare workers including any individual employed by a hospital, multi-level health care facility, home health agency, nursing facility, residential care facility and intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities that is licensed by the State of Maine receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of continued health care employment.
Jackie Foraker, the Bangor rally organizer and Family Nurse Practitioner at St. Joe Hospital, thanked the crowd for coming out. “What a last minute thing — thrown together at 10:30pm at night (Thursday) — and everyone obviously feels very strongly about this. So our goal here is to stand up for our medical freedom.”
Many healthcare workers at the rally said they were neither opposed or supportive of the COVID-19 vaccine. They support all Mainers making their own decision instead of government mandates.
“I am not a public speaker and they tell you not to say that. But I’m saying it for the very reasons I want you to start speaking up, too. It can not be just us legislators. It’s we the people. That is all of you. And if there was ever a time to stand up, it’s now! If there was ever a time to draw a line, it’s now! Because this is not just about healthcare workers.” State Rep Tracy Quint, Republican from Hodgdon and a registered nurse herself admonished the crowd.
Is it a bad idea for government to mandate a COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers?
Former State Rep Dick Campbell of Orrington warned the protesters,
“The problem is if we don’t stand up and stand against this, we are gonna fall to the new world order. This is just an example of how they are going to get in here. Why would a politician relying on fake science and pundits be able to rule the lives and livelihoods of all of us!?”
“It’s a terrible idea because it’s going to deplete the workforce, “James Elliot, an ER nurse at St. Jospeh and part of Stand Up For Medical Freedom told DavesPaper.com during an interview Sunday afternoon.
“And, where there is risk there has to be choice. No vaccine is 100% safe. And not to give us a choice to consent to that should be unconstitutional and it is wrong.”
Several in attendance voiced their thoughts that government vaccination mandates would not stop for just their occupation…next will be students, law enforcement and others.
Since Mills announcement on Thursday, several other Republican legislators have weighed in on this issue.
On Friday, Assistant Senate Republican Leader Matt Pouliot said via press release: “Once again, Governor Mills has taken unilateral action restricting the liberties of Maine citizens without so much as notifying the Legislature of her intent. The response and outrage that we are hearing from our constituents is clear and impassioned. We cannot sit idly by while state government again imposes its will on private citizens, businesses, and organizations.”
State Rep Heidi Sampson told a Stand Up For Medical Freedom Rally in Portland Saturday,
“I have to remind my fellow legislators and the Governor of this state the she serves the people of this state. And that you the people of this this state have the power and you are exercising your power today! You’re picking up your rights and I’m challenging you right now: Do not drop them! Hold them tight!”
State Rep Laurel Libby told DavesPaper.com this afternoon, “I would like to correct the misconception that this is about a vaccine. It is not. This is about government force. If We the People allow our government to tell us what we are required to do or not do in order to go about our everyday lives, to earn a living, or to provide for our families, then everything for which our Forefathers fought and died is lost. Will we so easily cast aside bodily autonomy, one of our most precious liberties? We must stand up and fight for our right to live our lives free from government coercion.”
Allen Esposito, an Army vet, Hampden Councilor and Chair of the Penobscot County Libertarian Party closed out the program with some excellent policy points.
“US libertarians live by something called the non-aggression principle. Good ideas do not require force. If it was really good for everybody…if it really was one size fits all, none of you would be here.”
“Don’t be silenced. Don’t be discouraged and fight like hell ’cause its the only way we are going to make change!”
Videos for in depth coverage of Sunday’s rally:
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