Vaccine mandate foes rally, vent anger

Hundreds of people opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates rallied Saturday at the Kansas Statehouse and pushed state lawmak- ers to quickly counter them, while an international labor union disavowed a local leader’s comparison of the mandates to the Holocaust that killed millions of Jews.

The rally kicked off ahead of a rare weekend legislative committee hearing on mandates from President Joe Biden that affect as many as 100 million Americans. The hearing gave dozens of mandate opponents a chance to vent their frustration and anger both with the Demo- cratic president’s adminis- tration and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Many of the speakers during the committee’s hear- ing argued that lawmakers should call themselves into 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.

Several critics of the mandates suggested Saturday that they violate interna- tional human rights stan

dards enacted in the wake atrocities during World War II. Bryan Luedeke, a Wichi- ta-area aircraft worker, called

them “reminiscent of Nazi Germany.”

His comments followed Friday’s comparison of the man- dates to the Holocaust by Cor

nell Beard, president of the Wichita district of the Interna- tional Association of Machin- ists and Aerospace Workers. A committee member, Republican Rep. Brenda Landwehr, of Wichita, appeared to agree with the analogy.

The international union issued a statement Saturday saying it “strongly condemns the offensive and inappropriate comparison” to the Holocaust.

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