Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and her husband, Andrew Gamberszky, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense for violating his First Amendment rights after he was "fired" from the military over his refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine, so mandated at the time.
Gamberszky, serving as a technical sergeant with the Oregon National Guard at the time, filed for an exemption from taking the vaccine, citing religious beliefs, but was denied.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued the mandate in August 2021, requiring all service members to get the vaccine against COVID-19 or face discipline, including dismissal. The mandate has since been rescinded by the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
Gamberszky objected to the vaccine, given his claims that aborted fetal cell tissue was used in the development of some vaccines. Gamberszky, a Christian, is opposed to abortion. He was forced to leave anyway.
In the filing, Gamberszky said he was "railroaded" by the mandate and "wrongfully made to separate," choosing to leave before his superiors removed him or levied other punishment that could tarnish his record.
Gamberszky entered the Air Force in 2009 and was awarded a Purple Heart in Afghanistan in 2014 after suffering life-threatening injuries from a gunshot. He entered the Oregon National Guard in 2017.
"It is heartbreaking as a spouse to see, you know, Andy just basically thrown to the wayside like that," Luna told the Washington Examiner. "We literally had a very short period of time to make a massively huge, life-changing decision. And so to have someone that was anticipating on ... X amount of time in the military and then just to be basically told, 'Hey, you either need to take this or you are you're gonna be ... punished' is pretty crazy to see."
The couple "have suffered, and continue to suffer, economic injury and irreparable harm" and are seeking "an award of monetary damages and equitable relief," according to the filing. Further, leaving meant "sacrificing his military career, hard-won CCT beret, participation in the medical board evaluation, and potential medical and military retirement," according to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
None of the COVID vaccines contain aborted fetal cells. However, Johnson & Johnson used fetal cell lines to develop their vaccine, and Pfizer and Moderna used fetal cell lines to test their vaccines.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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