The Oregon State Capitol. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter)
A march against Covid-related mandates is planned Tuesday at the Oregon State Capitol as the state Legislature begins its 2022 session.
Billed as Oregonians Unite for Medical Freedom, the event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to a press release.
Organizers say they oppose pandemic emergency orders and mask mandates and want to stop the Oregon Health Authority from developing a digital vaccine card, which the agency is working on as a voluntary option for people to show proof of vaccination.
“The time has arrived for us to hold elected officials accountable to their oaths of office and to We The People who give them the power they continue to abuse,” the press release said. “Health Freedom is not a radical movement, but rather a movement of necessity as public health policies infringe upon our collective Constitutional rights and threaten to undo all of the progress made for equality by visionary leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King.”
The event is sponsored by Children’s Health Defense Oregon Chapter, Oregonians for Medical Freedom, Free Oregon, People’s Rights Oregon, Free Lane County and Moms for Liberty.
Children’s Health Defense, run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has spread false claims that vaccines cause autism and other conditions in children.
Expected to speak are Kevin Jenkins, Brian Hooker, Steve Kirsch, Henry Ealy, Luke Yamaguchi, Ken and Sheryl Ruettgers, and Stephen Joncus.
-Ardeshir Tabrizian
