| 1 | 1 | | SECONDREGULARSESSION |
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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSERESOLUTION NO.4210 |
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| 3 | 3 | | 102NDGENERALASSEMBLY |
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| 4 | 4 | | INTRODUCEDBYREPRESENTATIVEBILLINGTON. |
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| 5 | 5 | | 5646H.01I DANARADEMANMILLER,ChiefClerk |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS,onAugust24,2021,theSecretaryofDefenseissuedamandatory |
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| 7 | 7 | | 2vaccinationpolicyagainstcoronavirusdisease2019(COVID-19)forallmembersofthe |
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| 8 | 8 | | 3ArmedForcesunderDepartmentofDefenseauthoritywhowereonactivedutyorinthe |
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| 9 | 9 | | 4ReadyReserve,includingtheNationalGuard;and |
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| 10 | 10 | | 5 |
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| 11 | 11 | | 6 WHEREAS,themandatoryvaccinationpolicywasimplementedconsistentwith |
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| 12 | 12 | | 7DepartmentofDefenseInstruction6205.02,"DoDImmunizationProgram,"effectiveJuly23, |
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| 13 | 13 | | 82019;and |
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| 14 | 14 | | 9 |
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| 15 | 15 | | 10 WHEREAS,mandatoryvaccinationofmilitaryservicememberswassubjecttoany |
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| 16 | 16 | | 11identifiedcontraindicationsandanyadministrativeorotherexemptionsestablishedin |
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| 17 | 17 | | 12MilitaryDepartmentpolicyallowingthepromulgationofappropriateguidancetocarryout |
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| 18 | 18 | | 13therequirementsofsuchmandate;and |
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| 19 | 19 | | 14 |
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| 20 | 20 | | 15 WHEREAS,militaryservicemembersareentitledtoprotectionoffreespeechand |
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| 21 | 21 | | 16freeexerciseofreligionundertheFirstAmendment,whichstates,"Congressshallmakeno |
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| 22 | 22 | | 17lawrespectinganestablishmentofreligion,orprohibitingthefreeexercisethereof;or |
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| 23 | 23 | | 18abridgingthefreedomofspeech,orofthepress;ortherightofthepeoplepeaceablyto |
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| 24 | 24 | | 19assemble,andtopetitiontheGovernmentforaredressofgrievances.";and |
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| 25 | 25 | | 20 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 21 WHEREAS,suchFirstAmendmentrightsarenotstrippedawaywhenoneentersthe |
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| 27 | 27 | | 22military;and |
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| 28 | 28 | | 23 |
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| 29 | 29 | | 24 WHEREAS,militaryservicemembersareentitledtoexercisetheirFirstAmendment |
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| 30 | 30 | | 25rights;and |
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| 31 | 31 | | 26 |
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| 32 | 32 | | 27 WHEREAS,onMay4,2017,UnitedStatesPresidentDonaldJ.Trumpissued |
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| 33 | 33 | | 28ExecutiveOrder13798,"PromotingFreeSpeechandReligiousLiberty",whichstatesinpart |
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| 34 | 34 | | 29thatit"shallbethepolicyoftheexecutivebranchtovigorouslyenforceFederallaw'srobust 30protectionsforreligiousfreedom"andrequiresthat"allexecutivedepartmentsandagencies. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 31..shall,tothegreatestextentpracticableandtotheextentpermittedbylaw,respectand |
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| 36 | 36 | | 32protectthefreedomofpersonsandorganizationstoengageinreligiousandpoliticalspeech"; |
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| 37 | 37 | | 33and |
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| 38 | 38 | | 34 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 35 WHEREAS,theExecutiveOrder'sreferenceto"allexecutivedepartmentsand |
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| 40 | 40 | | 36agencies"clearlyincludestheDepartmentofDefense;and |
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| 41 | 41 | | 37 |
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| 42 | 42 | | 38 WHEREAS,inkeepingwiththePresident'sExecutiveOrder,onSeptember1,2020, |
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| 43 | 43 | | 39theDepartmentofDefenseissuedDepartmentofDefenseInstruction1300.17,"Religious |
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| 44 | 44 | | 40LibertyintheMilitaryServices",whichprovidesthatservicemembers"havetherightto |
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| 45 | 45 | | 41observethetenetsoftheirreligion,ortoobservenoreligionatall"anddeclaresthefollowing |
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| 46 | 46 | | 42policy:"InaccordancewithSection533(a)(1)ofPublicLaw112-239,asamended,theDoD |
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| 47 | 47 | | 43Componentswillaccommodateindividualexpressionsofsincerelyheldbeliefs(conscience, |
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| 48 | 48 | | 44moralprinciples,orreligiousbeliefs)whichdonothaveanadverseimpactonmilitary |
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| 49 | 49 | | 45readiness,unitcohesion,goodorderanddiscipline,orhealthandsafety.AServicemember's |
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| 50 | 50 | | 46expressionofsuchbeliefsmaynot,insofaraspracticable,beusedasthebasisofanyadverse |
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| 51 | 51 | | 47personnelaction,discrimination,ordenialofpromotion,schooling,training,orassignment."; |
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| 52 | 52 | | 48and |
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| 53 | 53 | | 49 |
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| 54 | 54 | | 50 WHEREAS,someCOVID-19vaccinesaremadefrom,orweredevelopedfrom,cells |
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| 55 | 55 | | 51orcelllinesfromabortedhumanfetuses,andtakingthevaccinemakestherecipientan |
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| 56 | 56 | | 52accessorytoabortion,whichmanybelievetobeagainstGod'slaws;and |
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| 57 | 57 | | 53 |
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| 58 | 58 | | 54 WHEREAS,thosemilitaryservicememberswhosincerelyholdpro-life,Bible-based |
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| 59 | 59 | | 55beliefsthatabortioniswrongandsinfulshouldbeexemptedfrombeingrequiredorcoerced |
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| 60 | 60 | | 56toacceptanyCOVID-19vaccines;and |
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| 61 | 61 | | 57 |
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| 62 | 62 | | 58 WHEREAS,theDepartmentofDefenseandthecourtsdonotneedtoagreewith |
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| 63 | 63 | | 59thesereligiousobjections,buttheymustrecognizethatsuchreligiousobjectionsareprotected |
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| 64 | 64 | | 60bytheFirstAmendment;and |
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| 65 | 65 | | 61 |
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| 66 | 66 | | 62 WHEREAS,themilitaryhasutilizedvaccinationsinthepast,butnonehaveinvolved |
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| 67 | 67 | | 63thecomplexandcontroversialmedical,scientific,religious,sociological,andreligiousissues |
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| 68 | 68 | | 64triggeredbytheCOVID-19vaccine;nonehaveinvolvedsuchseriousanddivisivequestions |
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| 69 | 69 | | 65astothevaccine'sorigin,itseffectiveness,oritslikelihoodtoproduceadversereactions;and |
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| 70 | 70 | | HR4210 2 66nonehaveengenderedtheseriousreligiousandotherobjectionsthathavearisenfromthe |
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| 71 | 71 | | 67COVID-19vaccinethatwasreleased: |
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| 72 | 72 | | 68 |
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| 73 | 73 | | 69 NOWTHEREFORE BEITRESOLVEDthatwe,themembersoftheMissouri |
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| 74 | 74 | | 70HouseofRepresentatives,OneHundredSecondGeneralAssembly,SecondRegularSession, |
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| 75 | 75 | | 71hereby: |
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| 76 | 76 | | 72 |
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| 77 | 77 | | 73 (1)Recognizethatmanymilitaryservicememberswerewrongfullydeniedtheir |
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| 78 | 78 | | 74constitutionalrightsundertheFirstAmendmentwhentheyweredeniedreligiousexemptions |
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| 79 | 79 | | 75totheCOVID-19vaccinerequirement; |
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| 80 | 80 | | 76 |
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| 81 | 81 | | 77 (2)Recognizethatmanymilitarychaplains'livesandcareersweredamaged,and |
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| 82 | 82 | | 78manymilitarycareersweredamaged,bythedenialofpromotionsandwrongfultermination |
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| 83 | 83 | | 79oftheirservice; |
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| 84 | 84 | | 80 |
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| 85 | 85 | | 81 (3)RecognizethattheDepartmentofDefenseerredinitsapplicationoftheFirst |
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| 86 | 86 | | 82Amendment;and |
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| 87 | 87 | | 83 |
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| 88 | 88 | | 84 (4)Stateoursupportforremediestofullycompensatethemilitaryservicemembers |
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| 89 | 89 | | 85whowerewrongfullyterminatedfortheirchoicenottoreceivetheCOVID-19vaccine |
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| 90 | 90 | | 86including,butnotlimitedto,reinstatingsuchmemberstoactiveduty. |
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| 91 | 91 | | ✔ |
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| 92 | 92 | | HR4210 3 |
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