More than 30 legislators have requested that House Speaker Scott Bedke (R-Dist.27) bring the House out of recess so they can address the issue of mandatory Covid shots in the state. Bedke has refused, so Rep. Tammy Nichols (R-Dist. 11) has penned a letter to Governor Brad Little, requesting he call the legislature in for a special session.
True Idaho News has obtained a copy of the letter, which is reprinted here in its entirety:
August 4, 2021
Subject: The Necessity of a Special Session to Address Covid Related Restrictions
Dear Governor Little,
We in the legislature have been hearing from our constituents for well over a year and a half regarding their concerns over mandates of masks, COVID-19 vaccinations/shots, vaccine passports and more recently the fear of the loss of jobs for not taking the COVID-19 shot.
I am writing you today with the utmost urgency. Medical guidelines provided by the CDC and frankly the Biden Administration are confusing and contradictory. This has been amplified by the emergence of the “Delta” variant. Contradictory information has been put out by federal officials regarding the necessity of masks for the vaccinated.
Currently, the Boise School District and the City of Boise have re-instituted mask mandates regardless of vaccination status. Additionally, several area hospitals reversed their message and are now requiring all employees and volunteers (vendors are also being included) to take the COVID-19 shot or be subject to termination from their jobs. A Health Science major at BSU was recently told that she would be required to receive the Covid vaccination – which may contradict your Executive Order 2021-04 banning vaccine passports for state facilities.
Confusion abounds. Now is the time for leadership.
I urge you to call a special session. Please engage directly with legislative leadership. All ideas regarding how best to address the concerns of Idaho citizens regarding masks, mandatory vaccinations, medical privacy needed to be debated in public.
The citizens of Idaho need their voices heard and the best policy options debated.
Respectfully Yours,
Tammy Nichols
Bedke, despite having a voting record that created abundant laws and restrictions about what Idaho businesses can or cannot do, now claims that as a conservative, he doesn’t think government should be telling private businesses what to do. In a recent statement, Bedke said, “A tightly held tenet of the Republican Party is to stay out of the employer-employee relationship.”
A political consultant who asked not to be named said he’s curious to know why Bedke suddenly claims to be a conservative. “Whenever he is challenged by someone for the Speakership, it’s the moderate and liberal wing of the party that votes for him. Conservative legislators always vote for someone else.”
Wayne Hoffman, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, recently wrote, “State officials who are insisting they’re unable to get involved because they have some kind of penitent for limited government are simply being dishonest.”
Nichols’ letter comes as a glimmer of hope to hundreds of thousands of Idahoans, as people are being asked to choose either health freedom or economic viability. An employee of St. Luke’s Hospital in the Treasure Valley, who would not provide a name, told True Idaho News that “Nothing should be injected into your body against your will. I do not feel comfortable with this being injected into my body, not only because of the lack of research at this point, but also because of how they’re doing the research. This is new mRNA technology, and we’re not sure what it’s going to do to us at a genetic level.”
It is unknown whether Little will respond to Nichols’ letter. Earlier this year, Nichols sent both an email and a physical letter to Little, asking him to bring an end to mask mandates in the state. After not even receiving the courtesy of a “no” response, Nichols taped a letter to the Governor’s door in the Capitol building. Even after that, Little failed to respond.
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