NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A lawsuit filed earlier this month by a group for whom Kansas candidate for attorney general, Kris Kobach is general counsel, asks that airmen, including some from McConnell Airforce Base in Wichita who have religious objections to getting the COVID-19 vaccine be exempted.
"The First Amendment free exercise of religion clause protects them," Kobach said. "The government has no compelling interest in not making an exception for them. The other argument is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, which Congress passed, also protects them."
A Friday U.S. Supreme Court decision in a similar case involving Navy SEALS narrows the potential scope of any positive ruling, in that the court held that command still gets to decide where its resources are deployed. One of the main points of Kobach's case is that there is a large amount of sunk cost in the training of these airmen.
"Of the 36 plaintiffs, 17 are pilots," Kobach said. "They fly the KC-135 out of Wichita, McConnell Airbase, or they fly the RC-135 out of Offutt Airbase near Omaha. You know how much it costs to train one of these pilots? $5.5 million each."
Kobach's contention is that he needs to be elected attorney general to keep pressure on the Biden Administration on policy decisions like this one.
"In many cases, the only litigant who can bring a lawsuit is the state attorney general," Kobach said. "In this particular one, the airmen came to me and as a private attorney, I was able to bring the lawsuit. But, we really do need to stop an out of control administration in Washington right now."
Kobach is one of multiple Republican candidates running to replace Derek Schmidt, who is running for governor.