Let's Thank Rick Perry For Giving Anti-Vaxxers The Freedom To Give Our Kids Measles

Oh, swell, it's another reason to dislike former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. In addition to being a jerkhole in general, with a fetish for executin' in the name of the law and denying health care to ladies in the name of the lord, we can thank him for empowering anti-vaxxers to be all, "I do not want to protect my child from diseases, AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" Thanks, Rick.

As Huffington Post reports, it used to be not so long ago that everyone in the U.S. of America was required to vaccinate their children because A) science magic made it possible for people to stop getting terrible diseases that would sometimes kill them, which is a good thing, DUH; and B) see reason A, dummies, that should be the only reason you need.

Texas, being Texas, offered an exemption to parents who were members of a "recognized church or religious denomination" that believes the Bible says Jesus loved polio -- an exemption that wouldnotapply if the public health commission declared an emergency or epidemic. Like, maybe if an eradicated disease suddenly started spreading all over the damn place, maybe?

That was not good enough for Texas, though, so in 2003, Gov. Perry signed a law that allowed parents who did not even go to church and had no Holy Book of Holiness to cite to say, "But I don't wanna immunize my kids because it violates my 'conscience,'" a statement that prima facie proves the absence of a conscience in the first place. Perry's people who are trying to persuade America that he's now a whole new and improved and so much smarter Rick Perry -- look at the glasses, damnit! -- insist Perry is in favor of vaccines, thinks parents should yes please go ahead and do that, and he only signed that law in the first place because it was jam-packed with other really good health care things. But Rick Perry doesn't give a damn about health care for Texans, as we know from his epic battle to resist the implementation of Obamacare and shut down all the women's health clinics, so yeah, we'll be over here in this corner NOT giving him any credit or benefit of the doubt.

The whole notion of allowing parents to opt out of immunizing their kids just because they Read A Thing On The Internet or, good god, "meditated on it a lot" before deciding, "Eh, screw it, how bad could deadly diseases really be anyway?" has now spread like a disease and infected 20 other states.

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Two California state legislators are trying to fix that, now that the whole damned state has the measles, thanks A LOT, anti-vaxxers.

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"The high number of unvaccinated students is jeopardizing public health not only in schools but in the broader community. We need to take steps to keep our schools safe and our students healthy,” state Senator Ben Allen said in a written statement announcing the legislation he is co-sponsoring with fellow Democrat Richard Pan.

The measure would make California the 33rd state to bar parents from opting out of vaccinations based on personal beliefs.

Now that the Republican Party has sort of awkwardly bro-hugged the idea that parents probably should vaccinate their kids, but nobody shouldforcethem to do it, we look forward to the epic partisan battle in the states over whether these dummies will be allowed to re-up all those old-timey diseases we defeated back when believing in science was not a controversial hot take.

[ HuffPo / Reuters ]