In an executive order, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has prohibited private businesses from requiring a “vaccine passport” for employees and customers. Abbott is wrong to issue such an order.
When government—at any level—prohibits private businesses from issuing a vaccine mandate, it is requiring them to disregard their own judgment. In this context, that means that they cannot set the terms and conditions for entering their facilities.
We understand that businesses have a right to establish terms and conditions for employees and customers. Dress codes are one example. Some businesses believe that requiring a vaccine passport is in its best interest. Others will decide differently. Some customers want to only visit businesses that require vaccination, while others won’t care about the vaccination status of employees and customers. Each should be free to choose. Abbott’s order removes this choice.
Abbott backed various mandates, such as wearing a mask in public, under the guise of saving lives. Now, when businesses want to require a vaccine passport to help protect employees and customers, Abbott prohibits them from doing so. When Abbott issues an order, everyone must obey. When a business establishes a policy, every individual is free to decide whether they find that policy acceptable or not. If Abbott were truly interested in saving lives and protecting Texans, he would protect our freedom of choice.
Greg Abbott is our governor, not our father. He has no moral justification to treat us like children. He has no moral right to tell us what we can and cannot do. His job is to protect our freedom to live as we choose, so long as we respect the freedom of others to do the same.
Businesses have a right to declare, “No shirt, no service.” They also have a right to say, “No vaccine, no service.”