Florida punk rock gig to charge vaccinated people $18 a ticket and non-vaccinated people $999.99 - but could fall foul of Gov. DeSantis' strict anti-COVID passport laws
- Concert promoter Paul Williams says he wants to put on a safe show and encourage people to get vaccinated
- Headlining band Teenage Bottlerocket say they're fully behind the idea
- There are 250 tickets available to vaccinated people for the St. Petersburg show, and four for unvaccinated concertgoers
- Williams said there haven't been any takers for the $999.99 tickets
- At least one fan said she was unable to get a shot due to contracting the virus recently, and believes the price is unfair
- Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation banning public and private entities from asking for proof of vaccination in the state
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A punk rock concert promoter says unvaccinated people will have to pay almost $1000 to attend an upcoming gig - while those who have had their Covid shots will get in for just $18.
Paul Williams has set an unusual ticket price structure for an upcoming gig in St. Petersburg, Florida, by punk band Teenage Bottlerocket.
Fans will have to provide proof of vaccination to get the cheaper tickets.
'We're just trying to do a show safely, and they should go out and get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families and their community,' Williams told ABC of the potential concert goers.
Williams said he wasn't sure he could legally bar unvaccinated patrons from the show, which is slated for June 26 at the St. Petersburg VFW Post No. 39, so instead he came up with the unusual price tier.
'We're gonna let them in, we're not gonna out them,' he said. 'Nobody's gonna know that they're the person that bought the ticket and they'll be treated just like everyone else.'
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There are 250 tickets available to vaccinated people for the St. Petersburg show, and four for unvaccinated concertgoers. So far, Williams said, there have been no unvaccinated takers.
But by asking for proof a vaccination, Williams could be running afoul of an executive order signed in April by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which prohibits businesses in the state from requiring patrons or customers to produce documentation that they've been vaccinated to gain access.
At the time, DeSantis said: 'It's completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society.
'Requiring so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports for taking part in everyday life — such as attending a sporting event, patronizing a restaurant, or going to a movie theater — would create two classes of citizens based on vaccination.'
On May 3 DeSantis signed further legislation that would slap businesses, schools and government departments with a $5,000 fine for asking for proof of vaccination, with an exemption for licensed healthcare providers.
But Williams will likely avoid that fine, as it comes into force on July 1st - just days after the June 26th concert.
There is also the potentially thorny legal issue of asking for medical records.
Dr. Jay Wolfson, associate vice president for health law, policy and safety for the University of Southern Florida said, 'It would be discriminatory if a business said show me your personal health information,' ABC also reported.
Roughly 38 percent of Floridians have been fully vaccinated so far according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least one Teenage Bottlerocket fan is disappointed, however, and says she thinks the ticket policy is unfair.
Punk fan Brittney Wigen has been been unable to get vaccinated yet due to recently recovering from a bout of Covid-19 herself, but with antibodies in her blood from her recent infection, she believes she has some protection.
'I think it's terrible because not everyone can get the vaccine. I can't because I had COVID too recently,' she told ABC.
'I understand what they're doing. I think it's very nice of them, but it's just not fair,' Wigen said.
Teenage Bottlerocket member Ray Carlisle said the band was skeptical of William's idea at first, telling CNN, 'We thought he was kidding.'
Eventually, however, they were on board.
Williams, he said is, 'doing his best to keep the audience and the band, the staff at the venue safe and we go along with this idea.'
Carlisle noted that he and the rest of his band are also vaccinated, and said people should get vaccinated because it's the right thing to do.
'Don't do it because Teenage Bottlerocket's telling you to do it,' he said. 'Do it for your health, do it for your community.'
He said unvaccinated fans can attend another show on their tour in Orlando, which does not have such a ticket pricing structure, and told ABC that Wigen has another option.
'Perhaps put together a Go-Fund-Me, and all the other weirdo anti-vaxers can help support you going to Teenage Bottlerocket for a thousand dollars,' Carlisle said. 'That's always an option.'
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