Readers of this column know that I am a strong supporter of requiring school children to be vaccinated before allowing them to attend school. It’s my belief that if parents feel so strongly about the so–called dangers of vaccinations that they won’t protect their children from disease, then they should also be committed enough to either home-school the kids or send them to a private school that doesn’t have a problem rolling the dice with measles or other communicable diseases.
Up until recently the strange alliance of Walmart shoppers and Harvard faculty that was so opposed to vaccination — a common practice only a couple of decades ago — appeared to be winning.
More parents were opting out and government schools didn’t seem to care much one way or the other. I’m assuming the teachers had their shots. Parents could claim personal or religious reasons for not having their child immunized.
Then kids started getting sick.
The California legislature took a break from trying to confiscate constitutionally guaranteed firearms and finally addressed a real problem. It passed a law that required vaccinations regardless of personal beliefs or what the latest TV guru claimed.
It took effect on July 1 and now the state faces its first real test.
KPIX5 reports in Oakland alone “hundreds” of school children were sent home the first day of school because they could not prove they have been vaccinated. If kindergartners and incoming seventh graders can’t prove they’ve had their shots, then they have to hit the road.
And this is the point where we will learn how serious the state and school systems are about enforcing the new law. Children sent home mean complaints to principals, school boards and politicians. Empty–headed reporters will write heart–tugging stories about little Rasputin being denied his chance to invent the iPhone because heartless bureaucrats won’t let him in school.
Even worse, a group of sanctimonious “activists” called “Disease 4 All” — whoops, my mistake. The name is “Education 4 All.” This group is one of the activist gangs that wants to elevate the misguided personal preferences of the very few into the accepted procedure for the many. The group has just filed a federal lawsuit that claims requiring vaccinations for school kids deprives them of the right to learn.
Here’s hoping the judge throws the case out of court — I know, common sense on the federal bench in California is a long shot — and the legislators and school officials stand firm.
Vaccination vacillation is a fad that needs to die out just as much as the measles needs to die out.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.