“There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment,” U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor wrote. His words, addressed to the United States Navy, should remind all Americans — and especially those in positions of authority — that the Constitution refuses to bow to authoritarian impulses.
Earlier this month, O’Connor issued a preliminary injunction against the US Navy, barring it from taking further action against the 35 Navy SEALs and Special Warfare service members represented by the First Liberty Institute. It also gives hope to the thousands of service members who courageously raised religious objections to receiving the vaccine, knowing full well that their fate had long been sealed.