Restaurant chain In-N-Out Burger made waves this week when it refused to enforce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for customers in San Francisco, temporarily closing down a location and making it clear the company refuses “to become the vaccination police for any government.”
Quickly, praise for the restaurant erupted online.
“In-N-Out Burger has taken the right position on vaccine passports. #DoNotComply,” posted Republican state Rep. Tony Lovasco (R-MO) via Twitter.
In-N-Out Burger has taken the right position on vaccine passports.#DoNotComply https://t.co/UYVdFx2qTJ
— Rep. Tony Lovasco (MO-64) (@tonylovasco) October 19, 2021
Fox News host Steve Hilton told followers, “If you live near an In-N-Out Burger it is your patriotic duty to spend some $$$ there tomorrow.”
if you live near an In-N-Out Burger it is your patriotic duty to spend some $$$ there tomorrow
💪🍔🍟🇺🇸— steve hilton (@SteveHiltonx) October 20, 2021
Political commentator Lauren Chen wrote, “Yay, In-N-Out! Thank you for having principles and refusing to do the state’s dirty work. If you live near an In-N-Out, please pay them a visit! (Also, the burgers are delicious lol).”
Yay, In-N-Out!
Thank you for having principles and refusing to do the state's dirty work.
If you live near an In-N-Out, please pay them a visit!
(Also, the burgers are delicious lol) https://t.co/RZDPwqmTA8
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) October 20, 2021
“Like I’ve been saying for years…. In-N-Out Burger The GOAT (greatest of all time),” said popular political Twitter account @DDay_Cobra.
Like I've been saying for years….
In-N-Out Burger
The GOAT. https://t.co/NfWZnqn4gM
— DDayCobra (@DDay_Cobra) October 20, 2021
A user from Florida noted in a viral tweet, “San Francisco politicians want to make it clear – You can steal $949 worth of goods and nobody should stop you. But you need documentation for a double-double with fries.”
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, “California’s Proposition 47, passed in 2014, may have caused some of the increase. The proposition increased the threshold for thefts to be considered a felony, from $400 to $950.”
Similarly, The Babylon Bee’s Frank Fleming wrote, “So if I understand this, in SF you need to show proof of vaccination to eat at In-N-Out… unless you shoplift the burger because then it would be illegal for anyone to stop you.”
“The Hamburglar loophole,” he snarked.
So if I understand this, in SF you need to show proof of vaccination to eat at In-N-Out… unless you shoplift the burger because then it would be illegal for anyone to stop you.
The Hamburglar loophole.
— Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) October 20, 2021
In-N-Out Burger’s Chief Legal and Business Officer Arnie Wensinger slammed the August order dictating that the company has to check customers’ vaccine status before serving them.
”Our store properly and clearly posted signage to communicate local vaccination requirements,” he explained in a statement to Fox News. “After closing our restaurant, local regulators informed us that our restaurant Associates must actively intervene by demanding proof of vaccination and photo identification from every Customer, then act as enforcement personnel by barring entry for any Customers without the proper documentation.”
“‘We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government,” said Wensinger, adding that the San Francisco Department of Health’s requirements are “unreasonable, invasive, and unsafe.”
Last month, President Joe Biden formally announced that he will be mandating vaccination requirements for not just federal employees, but many private businesses, too.
“Companies with at least 100 employees must require their employees get vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 tests under a new Biden administration plan to combat the coronavirus and encourage vaccination,” The Daily Wire reported at the time. “President Joe Biden is scheduled to outline a revamped federal strategy to address COVID-19 that includes far more invasive regulations and restrictions than the federal government has put in place to date. Part of Biden’s six-point plan involves cracking down on 100+ employee companies to push their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.”
Language for the private business mandate has yet to be established. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Labor Department plans to issue an emergency temporary standard in a matter of weeks “implementing the new requirement, which will cover 80 million private-sector workers. … Businesses that don’t comply can face fines of up to $14,000 per violation, [officials] said.”
Notably, Daily Wire co-founder and CEO Jeremy Boreing announced that he would not comply with President Joe Biden’s dictates.
“The Daily Wire has well over 100 employees. We will not enforce Joe Biden’s unconstitutional and tyrannical vaccine mandate,” Boreing wrote. “We will use every tool at our disposal, including legal action, to resist this overreach. More to come.”
The Daily Wire has well over 100 employees. We will not enforce Joe Biden's unconstitutional and tyrannical vaccine mandate. We will use every tool at our disposal, including legal action, to resist this overreach.
More to come @realDailyWire.
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) September 9, 2021
Related: San Fran Temporarily Closes In-N-Out For Not Enforcing Vaccine Mandate, Restaurant Fires Back
Related: ‘I Will Not Comply’: Social Media Erupts Over Biden Vaccine Mandate Speech