FLDC2022 Covid-19 passport mandate might be illegal

This was discussed. We concluded that we have the right to require vaccination as a private event.

@DamienMcKenna

I spoke with legal counsel about this issue. Florida DrupalCamp is not an entity in any legally recognized sense - we are not an LLC, a business or any sort of registered organization - and thus are not within the state's guidelines for who this law applies to. The law comes with a fine but there would be no one to actually apply the fine to or sue.

Essentially, we are a private "club" or group of hobbyists who happen to be getting together for an event and are charging admission to said event. Legally speaking, it is no different than a group of friends getting together at someone's house for a party and charging for drinks at the door.

In addition, federal law allows us to require proof of vaccination (I believe), at least at this point in time. Whether or not federal law supersedes the state law is an issue that will undoubtedly end up before the Supreme Court but for now it is a murky gray area at best, legally speaking.

Finally, we are also beholden to Florida Technical College and their rules and guidelines. They are technically a for profit business BUT they graciously donate their space to us at no cost, so we are not paying them for the venue and the event is not authorized or sanctioned by them. However since we are using their facilities we are still going to follow their rules and that includes wearing masks at all times.

We appreciate the concern about this. I know you have attended FLDC in the past (and hope you can come again!) but we have put a lot of thought and discussion into this before making our policies.