Medical Freedom Bill Signed into Law in South Carolina
May 2, 2022
Last week Governor Henry McMaster signed South Carolina House bill 3126 into law the legislation dealing with COVID-19 vaccine mandates in South Carolina.
The lead sponsor, Rep. Stewart Jones (Laurens SC14) originally filed this legislation in December 2020 as a cautionary measure in case the federal government attempted to issue a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The South Carolina House took up and passed the legislation during an emergency session in December 2021 before recently passing the Senate and going to the Governor.
Jones said that “this bill has a number of very important components that help preserve our freedoms by ensuring no South Carolinian is forced to take a vaccine against their will or provide proof of vaccine.”
The legislation does the following – nullifies a federal vaccine mandate as being unconstitutional in South Carolina, prohibits the state and subdivisions from having or enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ensures that medical and religious exemptions must be honored in private businesses, ensures no one can be denied services due to vaccine status, and protects businesses by ensuring they can’t be sued if someone gets COVID on their premises.
