Ross: Relaxing rules for vaccinated people isn’t discrimination — that’s just freedom

That’s how I felt after my second dose: Free again. And we’re talking real freedom at this point (at least for those who are fully vaccinated).

Under the new rules, I’ll be able to go to church and sit close to strangers, more restaurants can return to full service, and theaters that admit only-vaccinated audiences can go up to 50% capacity!

So where does that leave unvaccinated people?

Well, it leaves them free to choose. They don’t have to get the vaccine or carry a vaccination card, and the state is not going to force businesses to check for vaccination cards.

But at the same time, the relaxed distancing rules for vaccinated people mean any business that involves having a lot of people indoors has a very strong incentive to require those cards. That will likely have unvaccinated people saying, “well, that’s discrimination.”

To which I would say, no – that’s freedom. The shots are everywhere now. Heck, you can get them at Mariners games. And for businesses that want to keep their patrons safe, there’s a much better chance of doing it by requiring the card … even if some of them are fake.

Yes, there are fakes being sold online for $200. If that catches on, it’ll just force states to set up databases, which they’re allowed to do when public health is involved.

But as Americans, we hate the idea of forging documents, right? At least we do when it comes to undocumented immigrants, so why would we, as good Americans, buy phony documents? We wouldn’t.

So, everybody gets what they want: The state will not force anyone to get the vaccine, it will not force you to carry a card, but at the same time – it will also not force businesses to endanger their customers by pretending COVID is no big deal.

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