Item #5 on Actions list
Sheriff Proclamation/Order
insert SHERIFF DEPARTMENT LETTERHEAD HERE
Date_________ ________ ________
From: Sheriff __________________________
To: All ________ County Sheriff’s Office Staff and All _________ County Residents
Subject: COVID Vaccine and Mask Mandates
While I strive to steer clear of politics, as Sheriff of _________ County, the time has come to reiterate my values and duties to the community I was elected to serve and protect.
Americans have recently witnessed unprecedented overreach by the federal, state, and local governments which are systematically trampling our rights in the name of controlling a pandemic. We have watched elected officials and others divide our country over the mandating of the COVID vaccine and wearing of masks. We have witnessed this division turn to hate and discontent between members of the community we love.
I am not pro-vaccine nor anti-vaccine. I am not pro-mask nor anti-mask. We are free people who live under the beacon of freedom and liberty on earth, with God-given rights memorialized in our Constitution. Similarly, our Declaration of Independence expresses these same ideas. I see nothing in our founding documents that forces us to relinquish our liberty for any reason, under any circumstances. America’s founders sought to inspire unity and provide a better vision of life. Their writings and words brilliantly declared their intention that the states and localities govern and police themselves – unencumbered by federal overreach or overreach at any level.
In the America and state that I swore to protect and defend, citizens are free to make their own health and medical decisions without threat of penalty. As such, and in keeping with the oath that I swore on ________ , I will defend the Constitution of the State of Ohio, and the Constitution of the United States.
There will be no COVID vaccine nor mask requirement/mandate for _________ County Sheriff’s Office staff. Furthermore, I and my staff pledge to protect the rights of every ______ County citizen, regardless of whether they choose to be vaccinated and/or masked or not. I and my staff pledge to ensure unfettered access to all ________ County businesses and government buildings for ALL ________ County citizens who choose to remain unvaccinated and/or unmasked, in keeping with our citizens’ rights as guaranteed under both state and federal constitutions.
I challenge my fellow elected officials to remember what we were elected to do. We are public servants, privileged to serve ALL constituents – not just those who choose the path we prefer. We were not elected to dictate or mandate. We were elected to ensure our constituents can never be forced to betray their consciences or relinquish their freedoms.
SHERIFF’S SIGNATURE BLOCK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------