Topline A federal judge ruled Sunday Norwegian Cruise Line can require passengers to show proof of vaccination despite a Florida law that prohibits them from doing so—the first in a potential series of legal rulings against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies barring Covid-19 restrictions in the state even as it becomes an epicenter of the pandemic. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to the media on July 03 in Surfside, Florida. Getty Images Key Facts U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams issued a preliminary injunction against Florida’s ban on so-called vaccine passports as it applies to Norwegian, ruling the cruise line can require vaccination proof as the case moves forward because it’s likely they’ll ultimately succeed. Williams ruled the vaccine passport ban “imposes significant burdens on interstate commerce” and violates the First Amendment because it subjects Covid-19 vaccines to restrictions that don’t apply to other vaccines or documentation, and said the state has “failed to demonstrate” banning proof of vaccination “is justified by a substantial government interest.” Florida also showed “no evidence” the ban “is materially effective at either protecting the medical privacy of Florida residents or preventing discrimination against unvaccinated individuals,” Williams said, adding their argument instead “appears to support the opposite conclusion” because the Florida law still allows for companies to impose other restrictions on unvaccinated people like making them take multiple Covid-19 tests. The ruling came as the state faced several new lawsuits over DeSantis’ executive order prohibiting schools from imposing their own mask mandates, which is now… Click below to read the full story from Forbes
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