Hundreds rally in Kansas to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state

Hundreds of people came out on the streets to rally against the COVID-19 vaccine mandates on Saturday at the Kansas Statehouse. The rally kicked off ahead of a rare weekend legislative committee hearing on vaccine mandates from President Joe Biden that affect as many as 100 million Americans.  

The conservatives and the anti-vaxxers utilised the rallies as a chance to vent their frustration and anger both with the Democratic president’s administration and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Furthermore, the critics of the mandates argued that such laws violate international human rights standards while Bryan Luedeke, a Wichita-area aircraft worker, went on to call them “reminiscent of Nazi Germany.”

“If we allow this to continue, there will be no stopping further government overreach,” said Cody Foster, a utility line worker and volunteer firefighter in central Kansas.

Kansas has become a hotbed from protests against the vaccine mandate. Earlier on Friday, Cornell Beard, president of the Wichita district of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, compared the vaccine mandates to the Holocaust. 

Following the statement from Beard, the international union issued a statement on Saturday saying it “strongly condemns the offensive and inappropriate comparison” to the Holocaust.

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“Regardless of one’s views on divisive political issues, there is never a place for this type of hurtful rhetoric,” the statement said, Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, many of the speakers during the committee’s hearing argued that lawmakers should call themselves into a special session instead of waiting to reconvene until 2022. Lawmakers can do that without Kelly if two-thirds of them sign a petition, but so far such an effort hasn’t gained much traction.

As speakers called for lawmakers to have a special session, the Senate’s top Republican leaders didn’t rule it out.

“I’m going to look for that kernel of something we can do and see if there’s a window there,” said Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican.

With inputs from the Associated Press