I am writing to express my strong support for individual choice regarding COVID-19 vaccinations.
We are blessed with a number of important constitutional protections.
We enjoy the right of free speech, the right to bear arms, and the right of free assembly.
Of course, no right is absolute.
Free speech does not permit one to scream “fire” in a crowded theater when there is no fire; the right to bear arms does not permit a private citizen to enter a jail facility carrying a handgun; and the right to assembly does not permit an invasion of Congress such as we saw on Jan. 6.
Every person’s right to freely swing their arms ends at the tip of another person’s nose.
The decision to be vaccinated or not be vaccinated against COVID-19 is a personal, private decision that should not be violated by governmental decree.
However, it is equally true that the government should not have the right to order citizens to gather in assemblies where the risk of contracting a potentially deadly virus is likely.
We have an obligation to insure that whenever we require individuals to assemble, for example in a classroom, that those gathered are safe from potentially deadly threats such as becoming infected by another who has chosen to not be vaccinated.
Each of us has a right to chose to be vaccinated or not; we do not, however, have a right to chose to expose others to the consequences of that decision.
Michael Hatch
Port Angeles