TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Touting his efforts to keep Florida’s economy open during the COVID-19 pandemic by banning mask and vaccine mandates, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he wants lawmakers to make those measures permanent, calling them a “prescription for freedom.”
He said such mandates would have denied people from earning a living, prevented parents from sending their children to school, discriminated against people based on their vaccine status and silenced doctors.
“We believe there’s no turning back from our direction,” DeSantis said during an hour-long rally in Panama City Beach packed with supporters. “We need to lead with this by making all of these protections permanent in the Florida statutes, which we are going to do in the upcoming legislative session.”
