Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said on Newsmax Thursday that his state is involved in three lawsuits filed against President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates because the Constitution "doesn't give unilateral authority" to the president to "do anything he wants to do, regardless of what the legislative branch or the judicial branch thinks."
"We were involved in the original OSHA lawsuit, which led to a nationwide stay on that particular vaccine mandate," said Reeves on Newsmax's "John Bachman Now." "We were involved as well earlier this week in the case where the Louisiana federal judge put a nationwide stay on the vaccine mandate with respect to [Medicaid], and we have a third lawsuit outstanding with respect to the defense contractors."
The governor, a Republican, said he's vaccinated and he does support vaccination and urges people in his state to get their shots, but he also believes in freedom and liberty and believes people can best make their own choices.
"It's incumbent upon all of us as elected leaders to tell people the truth, which has certainly been a real problem out of Washington, D.C.," said Reeves. "But it's incumbent upon us to tell people the truth, give them good information and let them make the best decisions for themselves."
Reeves said he's also against mask mandates, and he thinks there's some "marginal benefit" to people who wear them. However, he said he doesn't think people should be shamed whether or not they wear masks.
Meanwhile, Mississippi is in the news this week with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments concerning its abortion law that prohibits the procedure after 15 weeks in a case that could lead to the repeal of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and Reeves hit out against allowing the deliberations to turn political.
"There is plenty of room for politics in the executive branch of government, but in the judicial branch of government, they have lifetime appointments at the United States Supreme Court, and it is for the express purpose of shielding them from the political implications at any one time," said Reeves. He added that when he remembers the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey that was decided in 1992, he thinks the decision was not "rooted in any constitutional principles."
"It was rooted in the perceived political perception at that time by a small number of the justices," said Reeves. "What Casey ultimately did is it tilted the scales towards the abortion on demand movement, whereas we hope that this Mississippi case has at a minimum, the opportunity to tilt the scales back for those of us who believe in protecting human life."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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