A resolution expressing Fort Wayne City Council’s support of the state legislature’s decision to ban vaccine passports throughout the state did not have enough votes to succeed, but generated heated debate among members.
As a resolution, even passage would only be symbolic; the purpose, according to 4th District Republican bill author Jason Arp, would be to emphasize local support for the statewide measure.
But for several Council members, the proposal ran deeper than that on a philosophical level.
Arp lashed out over the 15 months of pandemic response, stating that data suggests the pandemic is “over” and that lockdown policies “made no difference” in the effort. He added that a business or entertainment venue demanding a passport as vaccination would equate to “segregation and discrimination against unvaccinated people.”
“We’re going to die eventually anyway. I’m going to die, we’re all going to die," Arp said. "And whether it’s getting hit by a bus, or pneumonia, or COVID-19, it’s in God’s hands; that day has already been picked before any of us know it.”
6th District Democrat Sharon Tucker said he's right, in a sense, pushed back against that as an absolute.
“He has given us all kinds of wisdom to utilize: don’t drive your car speeding down the road, try to refrain from overindulging in smoking, drugs, etc.," Tucker said. "I’m not choosing to live my personal life on the edge knowing that I’m going to die, because it might not be today and I don’t want to speed that road up. That’s a choice everybody gets to make.”
With discussion highly partisan, and Republicans Tom Didier and Russ Jehl absent for the evening, Arp attempted to hold the measure for two weeks to no avail. It ultimately failed along party lines, 4-3.
5th District Democrat Geoff Paddock voted against the measure, adding that he disagreed with Arp’s position and outlook on the matter.
“I believe in science, and I believe in the experts who have brought us a vaccine that is saving lives and helping to open up our country again after over a year of shutting down and isolation.”
Paddock also reiterated the point that because of the state statute, Council isn’t in a position to enact greater restrictions against vaccine passports and the resolution gave people the wrong idea.
Democrat Michelle Chambers also voted against it, echoing that the measure was redundant to the state resolution and only served to stoke state and federal political tensions at the local level.
