Enforce Biden’s vaccine mandate? Horry sheriff and others in SC say they won’t
Horry County Sheriff Philip Thompson has added his support to a letter from the South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, saying that his office would not enforce President Joe Biden’s proposed vaccine mandate.
In a press release issued Friday, Thompson and sheriffs from the state’s other 45 counties said they’d received “various inquires from citizens” around South Carolina asking if they’d enforce the vaccine mandate Biden proposed a little more than a week ago. The sheriffs said they would not enforce the mandate.
Biden said that he was directing federal agencies to draft rules that would require employees at companies, and possibly other entities, with more than 100 workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Those rules are still being drafted, and it’s not yet clear which entities would be affected or who enforce the mandate. Government officials across Horry County with large workforces told The Sun News last week they weren’t sure if the mandate would apply to them. The South Carolina Department of Education said last week that it expects school districts to be subject to the mandate.
In the release, the Sheriffs’ Association said it wasn’t the role of county-level sheriffs to enforce a federal law or federal mandate. The association also warned of “government overreach.”
“Quite frankly, we all should be leery of government overreach on any level. South Carolina citizens should not, however, worry about their Sheriffs enforcing federal law,” the Sheriffs’ Association said in the release. “Ultimately, South Carolina Sheriffs possess no statutory authority to enforce federal law, including Presidential Executive Orders. Additionally, neither the South Carolina General Assembly nor the Governor have utilized their authority to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations.”
The association did not take a stand against COVID-19 vaccines themselves, saying instead that residents should consult with their doctors.
“While South Carolina’s Sheriff’s encourage you to consult with your doctor about your individual medical situation and whether the COVID-19 vaccine is appropriate for you, they cannot enforce the Executive Orders issued by President Biden on Sept. 9,” the release said.
In an interview Saturday with The Sun News, Thompson said he’d gotten calls and visits from residents wanting to know if his office would be enforcing a vaccine mandate. Thompson said the Sheriffs’ Association members hosted a conference call on Friday and determined that they should tell people their offices can’t enforce federal law. In the cases of other federal laws, Thompson said, his office’s role is to refer those cases to appropriate federal agencies.
Because the exact rules, as well as who will enforce them, isn’t yet clear, Thompson said, “that’s the purpose of what we’ve done here,” he said. “The process is not far along enough at this point that anyone knows and local law enforcement doesn’t enforce federal law.”
Thompson added that the decision was not meant to be seen as anti-vaccine.
“We’re not pro-vaccine, we’re not anti-vaccine. It’s not our place to be there and enforce (that),” he said.
In the event that South Carolina says state and local agencies will have to enforce a vaccine mandate, Thompson said the state’s sheriffs would reassess the situation. Such a situation may be unlikely, though, as South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced last week that he and other attorneys general around the country would take legal action to prevent such a mandate.
“It may change but we’re not there yet,” he said. “People are concerned and they want to know what we’re going to do and at this point we have to wait to see.”
Other area sheriffs signed onto the letter, too, including Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver.
“I respect the rights of citizens and their ability to make healthcare choices that are best for them and their loved ones,” Weaver said in a statement accompanying the letter. “There is a delicate balance between freedom and fear, and government must take every measure possible to ensure that the rights of its people are not infringed upon in achieving said balance.”
This story was originally published September 18, 2021 at 4:47 PM.
