Thousands of people gathered in Los Angeles outside City Hall on Monday in protest of the city’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.
The demonstration, A March for Freedom, organized by a group called Firefighters 4 Freedom, served as a stage for workers from the fire department, police department, sanitation agencies, and other departments to protest the looming deadline for them to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 18.
John Knox, a member of the Firefighters 4 Freedom, said the mandate is “an overreach” by the government, according to KTLA. “It’s not your right to tell me what I do with my healthcare, what I put into my body,” he said.
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“I’m here to show support for the men and women in law enforcement, the firefighters, those working in sanitation. … who are here not so much against being vaccinated, or the vaccine, but they’re against being forced to do so by our local government,” said Moses Castillo, a retired Los Angeles Police Department detective.
The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure on Aug. 18 which requires all city employees to be inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 20 unless they received a medical or religious exemption. But right before the Oct. 20 deadline, the city council approved an extension to give workers more time to get vaccinated, moving the deadline to Dec. 18.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned that employees who refuse to get vaccinated by the deadline “should be prepared to lose their job.”
There is also a mandate in Los Angeles, which went into effect Monday, that requires residents to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test if they want to enter such places as malls, nail salons, restaurants, and movie theaters.
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While attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, it was revealed that Garcetti had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be quarantining in his hotel room.
The Biden administration has also announced vaccine mandates, including one for businesses with more than 100 people for which an extension was given. Workers are now expected to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing.
