Spokane City Council member threatened with job loss for refuting mandatory vaccines
© KREM
Spokane Councilman Mike Fagan.
A member of the Spokane, Washington, City Council says he was threatened with removal from a health panel if he espoused anything other than the consensus view that vaccines for children should be mandatory.
In an interview with local CBS affiliate KREM, Councilman Mike Fagan says other council members called on him to resign from the Board of Health following comments he made about vaccines.
His vaccine crime was stating that he did not believe that the "science of vaccinations is not settled yet" regarding vaccines, according to a separate report by .
Since making his statements, Fagan has clarified them somewhat, but other council members, whose behavior borders on the maniacal, say he needs to clear up the issue altogether -- meaning, he needs to parrot what they believe -- or they will remove him from the board.
"Not acceptable"
The fracas comes amid a current outbreak of measles, which has infected both unvaccinated and Americans, causing debate about just how effective the vaccines really are.
"I do not get vaccinations, but I'm not going to impose my opinion or my will on anyone else," Fagan said in an interview with KREM.
Fagan posted his views on his Facebook page, but fellow council members have called that unacceptable.
"I don't think he would have been appointed to the board of health by this city council had we known that he had anti-vaccination and anti-science views on this issue," said Ben Stuckart, the Spokane City Council President.
Fagan maintains that there are studies that have been conducted questioning the effectiveness and safety of immunizations, adding that some lawsuits are also challenging their efficacy. He also says he is speaking his mind as he is permitted to do under the First Amendment's freedom of speech clause.
"I believe that the science of vaccinations is not settled yet," said Fagan.
Other council members, however, say Fagan ought to be encouraging everyone to get vaccines , even if they don't want them or they haven't been shown to be safe or effective.
"He bears a big responsibility being on the health board, to promote public health, to preserve life in Spokane County," Jon Snyder, a Spokane City Council member, told the local CBS affiliate.
Fagan also told the local news team that, even though he does not believe in vaccines, he would not necessarily vote his point of view as a member of the board of health.
"It's not about me; it's about everybody else, and if this is the majority that is asking for the vaccinations, that's fine," said Fagan.
That rational position is simply not good enough for the very irrational positions of the remaining board members. They believe that even suggesting that immunizations are not necessarily all they are cracked up to be is too dangerous.
Disabled vet and talk show host
As further reported by KREM:
The Spokane City Council President has a letter calling for Councilman Fagan to clarify his comments.
He [presented it to the full council February 13]. Fagan said he is aware of the letter and plans to ask for 10 days to clear up what he has said about vaccines.
According to Spokane's posted profile of Fagan, he is a disabled U.S. veteran who served as a contracting officer in the Army and is co-founder and co-director of an organization called "Voters Want More Choices," a political action group advocating lower taxes.
Also, according to the site:
Mike is and has been very active in the community. He is former President of a number of groups including: Bemiss Neighborhood Council, the Regional Boundary Committee for OSPI & ESD 101, Spokane Sister Cities Association, Hillyard Community Block Grant Steering Committee, and Eastern Washington Term Limits Coalition. He is and has been a Stakeholder with Spokane Comprehensive Plan at the neighborhood level, Stakeholder of Spokane Centers and Corridors at the neighborhood level, plus numerous other civic activities. Additionally, he Co-hosts a radio talk show, "The Right Spokane Perspective," about local politics, issues and items of community interest.
Some radical.
:
0 reacties:
Post a Comment