Rep. Luna, husband, sue Pentagon over since-repealed COVID-19 vaccine mandate

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and her husband are suing the Department of Defense (DOD) refused to receive the COVID-19 shot and left the military under the Pentagon’s since-repealed vaccine mandate.

Luna and her husband, Andrew Gamberzky, a former technical sergeant with the Oregon Air National Guard, this week revealed they had filed a federal complaint against the National Guard Bureau, the DOD, the Air Force and the Oregon Department of Military for what they say was a violation of Gamberzky’s First Amendment rights.

In the court filings, Luna and Gamberzky’s attorney claim he sought religious and medical exemptions to taking the shot but was denied. He was later forced to resign after he refused the vaccine “based on his sincerely held religious beliefs.”

As a result of his ouster, he and Luna incurred “significant financial injury,” including “loss of healthcare, spousal benefits, and survivor benefits as provided for by the military,” according to the complaint first filed Nov. 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The complaint holds that the DOD violated Gamberzky’s First Amendment rights, noting that “discrimination on the basis of Plaintiffs sincerely held religious beliefs caused Plaintiffs wrongful separation from the National Guard.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a mandate in August 2021 requiring coronavirus vaccines for all service members, including those in the National Guard and Reserve.

Those who did not comply faced various levels of punishment, including loss of days accrued toward retirement, loss of pay or even dismissal from the ranks.

But in January of this year, the Pentagon formally rescinded the order, dropping the shot’s requirement across the military, as stipulated in the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Several Republican lawmakers have since argued for back pay or reinstatement for troops who were kicked out over the mandate.

The issue came up during negotiations over this year’s NDAA, with Congress including a provision that directs the Pentagon to review the reinstatement of U.S. troops who were discharged for refusing the shot. The bill has been passed by both the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Biden on Friday.

Gamberzky, who entered the Air Force in 2009, worked with special operations teams and was awarded a Purple Heart in Afghanistan in 2014 after he was shot and sustained life-threatening injuries. Other decorations he’s earned include the Combat Action Ribbon and a Bronze Star, according to the filing.

In 2017, he joined the Oregon Air National Guard, where he was serving when the Pentagon put out its vaccine mandate.

Gamberzky, a practicing Christian, said he objected to the coronavirus vaccine due to his religious beliefs and opposition to abortion, as he claims aborted fetal cell tissue was used in the development of some vaccines.

While the COVID-19 vaccines do not contain aborted fetal cells, Johnson & Johnson did use fetal cell lines — not fetal tissue — when developing and producing their shot. Pfizer and Moderna, meanwhile, used fetal cell lines to test their vaccines.

Gamberzky sought a religious exemption to the mandate in an Oct. 14, 2021, email, and also requested a medical exemption or accommodation on or about that time, according to his attorney.

He later learned that nearly all his exemptions were rejected and feared punishment, ultimately leading to him deciding to resign rather than wait to be removed by his superiors.

Though Gamberzky left the military on his own accord, the filing argues he was “railroaded” by the vaccination mandate and “wrongfully made to separate … as he was forced to choose between his dignity; compromising his pride as a high-level, long-serving member of the Airforce and National Guard; his job; and his sincerely held religious beliefs.”

He and Luna “have suffered, and continue to suffer, economic injury and irreparable harm,” with the two seeking “an award of monetary damages and equitable relief,” according to the filing.

Luna, also a former service member, said the case goes beyond the legality of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and is a “significant equal protection issue.”

“It’s an infringement on his constitutional rights, his religious rights, his due process right,” she said. “Andy is a man with great integrity, and he stood up for what he believed in – instead of respecting his decision they took away his benefits that he rightfully earned after years of serving our country.”

In a statement to The Hill, Gamberzky said he had no plans on rejoining the military.

“When this administration made my ability to serve my country impossible, I realized it wasn’t the same military that I joined,” he wrote. “We lost our faith in the DOD and therefore have no plans of rejoining until they properly right this wrong.”

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