Marion County to consider ordinance for protections for “health freedom”

File photo: A member of the Region 3 Incident Management Team draws the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe inside the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management Mobile Command Center at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management COVID-19 drive-thru vaccination site at the Florida Agriculture Center and Horse Park south of Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

Marion County is seeking to enact protections against discrimination based on healthcare mandates such as COVID-19 vaccines and face masks.

The ordinance will be known as the Marion County Health Freedom Bill of Rights. A public hearing will take place on July 16 to consider the ordinance.

If passed, “Marion County will not require any person to provide any documentation certifying vaccination with any vaccine, post-infection recovery from COVID-19, or require a COVID-19 test to gain access to, entry upon, or obtain service from the Marion County operations, or as a condition of contracting, hiring, of continued employment,” according to the proposed ordinance.

The move is being made to comply with state law, after the May 2023 passing of Senate Bill 252, which prohibits discrimination based on healthcare choices and the enforcement of international health organization guidelines. It was codified into the Florida Patient’s Bill of Rights.

“Marion County shall complement the enforcement of Florida Statutes…by establishing a designated staff contact under the assistant county administrator for administration, who shall receive complaints from Marion County residents regarding alleged violations of those statutes and forward those complaints with supporting documentation to the State of Florida Department of Legal Affairs,” according to the proposed ordinance.

The public hearing to consider the ordinance will take place at 10 a.m. or soon after on July 16, during the Marion County Commission meeting. Meetings are held in the McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, at 601 SE 25^th Ave., Ocala. Citizens may attend and provide feedback or opinion on the ordinance.