Vaccine passport bill advances amid tensions

The Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19. Photo: Lisa Ferdinando, DoD

SALT LAKE CITY — House Bill 60, which would prohibit businesses and governments from requiring vaccine passports, moved forward in the Utah Senate on Tuesday.

The bill passed out of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on a 7-2 vote and will now go to the full Utah Senate for consideration.

Three people were removed from a crowded committee room on Tuesday afternoon. One man was placed in handcuffs and carried out by Utah Highway Patrol troopers.

A man was removed from the room. I do not know if he was arrested (I’ve reached out to @UTHighwayPatrol to confirm what happened). @fox13 #utpol #utleg pic.twitter.com/USe39BsKvc

— Ben Winslow (@BenWinslow) March 1, 2022

Fox13’s Ben Winslow reported that the man was cited for disrupting a public meeting and later released.

“Sen. McCay convened the meeting again and told people not to be disruptive. Some in the room told FOX 13 News they had been instructed to remove stickers and signs in favor of the bill. Sen. McCay warned against further disruptions, then ordered several people removed.” — Ben Winslow, Fox13

If the law is enacted, businesses will not be able to discriminate against an individual based on their vaccination status. Also, governmental entities cannot require someone to receive a vaccine under the bill.

“At the barrier of your skin, or the entrance of your mouth is that your body and nobody else, nobody else including the President of the United States, should have the right to penetrate that bodily integrity,” Sen. Mike Kennedy, a co-sponsor of the bill, said Tuesday. “That’s something that’s fundamental to our society.”