Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is not backing down in the battle against vaccine passports, even when it comes to cruise lines.
What he said: DeSantis told reporters on Friday that cruise ships are not exempt from the state’s law that bans proof of vaccination requirements.
“We are going to enforce Florida law,” DeSantis said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “I mean, we have Florida law. We have laws that protect the people and the privacy of our citizens, and we are going to enforce it. In fact, I have no choice but to enforce it.”
“We provided vaccine for a lot of their workers,” the Republican governor said, referring to the cruise industry. “Nobody has fought harder, not just for cruises, but the entire leisure and hospitality sector in this state in its history than me.”
The law: DeSantis signed legislation to prohibit businesses, schools, and government agencies from requiring people to show proof of vaccination. The bill, called Senate Bill (SB) 2006, was signed on May 3. The ban was also outlined in DeSantis’ executive order.
Where things got complicated: The Center for Disease and Control gave Celebrity Cruises the green light to begin work toward restarting cruises for the first time in more than a year. Its Celebrity Edge is expected to set sail on a seven-night cruise on June 26 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
However, the cruise ship will require 100% of crew members and 95% of passengers who will be on board to be vaccinated.
This goes against Florida’s ban on vaccine passports.
Thus, Florida filed a lawsuit against the CDC, arguing that the agency’s mandate for cruises to require all its crew and most of its passengers to be vaccinated is unconstitutional. Earlier this month, the lawsuit was sent to a mediator.
“We’re [suing the CDC] because it obviously has hurt our state,” DeSantis said Friday. “But it’s a larger issue than just the cruises. You cannot have some bureaucracy — that does not have the legal authority to do this — claim an emergency and shut down commerce.”
DeSantis expressed confidence that Florida will win its legal standoff with the CDC.
“Maybe there will be a resolution,” the governor continued. “Ultimately, we wanted to vindicate the state’s immediate interest with this [lawsuit]. But there is a larger point, and I am confident: we will win the case. We will win. We were right on the law. I think all the indications are that we will be. And we will absolutely be upheld in the 11th Circuit [Court of Appeals].”
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