Why are some GOP governors preventing businesses from using vaccine passports?

Particularly in businesses where people gather in crowded indoor environments such as bars, gyms, restaurants and theaters, owners are understandably apprehensive about the spread of infection. Further, in consumer-based industries, a vaccination requirement could increase some customers’ comfort with frequenting the business. Antidiscrimination laws already provide protection to individuals who require a medical or religious exemption from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. And yet, in a clear case of government overreach, some Republican politicians have enacted regulations banning private businesses from choosing to require the COVID-19 vaccine. For example, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently issued an executive order that prohibited not only Florida government entities, but also private Florida businesses from requiring customers to provide any type of vaccine passports — defined broadly as “any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination.” The order itself attempts to justify this significant regulation of private business as necessary to protect the “free flow of commerce.” This is a very strange position for one of the leaders of the Republican Party, which brands itself as being pro-business and anti-regulation. Essentially, Florida’s executive order is turning unvaccinated people into a protected class under the state’s anti-discrimination laws. Just as state anti-discrimination laws protect customers from discrimination based on fundamental characteristics such as race, sex or religion, Florida now has added those who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine. While Florida’s executive order has received significant media attention, similar bills prohibiting private businesses from requiring customers or employees to be vaccinated have been introduced in other states around the country including Alabama, Arizona, Iowa, Montana and Wisconsin.