San Joaquin County Politician Speaks Out In Support Of In-N-Out's Refusal To Check Vaccine Cards At 2 Bay Area Locations
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY (CBS13/AP) - A San Joaquin County supervisor is speaking out in support of In-N-Out Burger after the chain was fined by the Contra Costa County government for not verifying customers' vaccination cards.
"We stand with In-N-Out Burger. We are proud of you for standing up and fighting against bullies and we respect a person's choice of what they want and what they do not want in their bodies," said San Joaquin County District 3 Supervisor Tom Patti in a video he tweeted from his personal account.
He tweeted the video along with text reading: "Great lunch at our local In N' Out today. We appreciate them standing up for the their customers. Thank you! #SanJoaquinCounty #InNOut"
The fine came after a spokesperson for Contra Costa County's environmental health division told a Bay Area publication that enforcement officers visited the Morgan Hill restaurant three times, resulting in a warning and two fines totaling $750.
This is the second time a Bay Area goverment took action against the chain. San Francisco's public health department temporarily shuttered the company's Fisherman's Wharf location Oct. 14, saying that the restaurant was endangering public health by not checking customer vaccination cards as required by the city. It has since reopened but no longer offers in-store dining.
The San Francsico closure elicited a spirited rebuke from the family-owned restaurant:
"We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government," said chief the company's chief legal and business officer Arnie Wensinger in a statement.
It didn't respond to the AP's request for a comment about the fines.
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