It is really a sad sign of our times to read about the uproar about whether vaccinations should be mandatory for children or whether vaccines for certain diseases cause abnormalities like autism.

First the claim made by one former Playboy bunny that vaccinations cause autism – which was picked up by thousands of uninformed people who believe anything they see on social media or the internet without first investigating – has been proven to be false.

There should not even be a question about the fact that vaccinations for childhood diseases should be mandatory or not; they should be. Many of us can remember when we were young that an epidemic of polio was sweeping the land. It was mandatory to take the polio shot, and as a result countless thousands of people were saved from a horrible, crippling disease or death.

If you for some reason think it’s your Constitutional right not to have your child vaccinated, it is not. You have no more right to practice a belief that puts other families in danger of impairment or death than the person who would falsely shout “fire” in a crowded auditorium.

There are many laws and instances where the government has overstepped its Constitutional right in infringing on our personal rights; requiring vaccinations to protect our children’s lives and other children’s lives is not one of them.