Letter to the Editor

Nearly 100 years ago, in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that vaccine mandates were constitutional. Justice John Marshall Harlan explained that “Real liberty for all could not exist under the operation of a principle which recognizes the right of each individual person to use his own [liberty in a way that results in injury to others].”

We now know, based on over 18 months of evidence from the Covid pandemic, that the failure to be vaccinated and wear face masks in indoor public places is using one’s own liberty in a way that does harm to others.

It is unconscionable for city, county, and school district employees who have contact with the public to refuse vaccines and wearing face masks. The same is true for employees of businesses who interact with the public.

Almost half of our population has failed to understand this important lesson about personal liberty, personal freedom.

Lamar Hankins

San Marcos