Newsom Signs Bill Protecting Vax Sites From Covidiots

San Francisco’s ABC News affiliate reports:

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 742, which aims to defer anti-vaccine protesters from preventing people from getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

SB 742, which was authored by Sen. Dr. Richard Pan of Sacramento, will protect the rights of people to safely receive vaccinations without concern for intimidation or physical obstruction from anti-vaccine protestors.

“Specifically, under SB 742, a person would not be permitted to physically obstruct or intimidate at a vaccine clinic and all individuals who engage in pickets at a vaccine clinic would need to stay at a designated distance from the clinic,” a press release about the bill reads.

The Associated Press reports:

Opponents including California Family Council, Alliance Defending Freedom and Life Legal Defense Foundation argued that the measure infringes on free speech and is so broad that it can apply to anti-abortion protesters.

Life Legal Defense Foundation legal director Catherine Short said in a statement that she plans to quickly challenge the law and seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in federal court.

Democratic Assemblywoman Akilah Weber, who supported the measure, said it “strikes a balance between the rights of those who make a personal choice about how they wish to address their healthcare and safety with the personal rights of those who wish to protest their oppositions.”

As I reported back in September 2019, the bill’s author, Sen. Richard Pan, was once assaulted by an anti-vax Christian extremist outside the California statehouse.

Gov. Newsom signs bill protecting the rights of people to get the COVID-19 vaccine https://t.co/EfXABFdOnK

— ABC10 (@ABC10) October 10, 2021