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Country Star Jason Aldean Rips California’s Student Vaccine Mandate: Americans ‘Better Start Standing Up’

   DailyWire.com
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 06: Recording artist Jason Aldean performs during the launch of his three-night "JASON ALDEAN: RIDE ALL NIGHT VEGAS" engagement at Park Theater at Park MGM on December 6, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
David Becker/Getty Images

Country star Jason Aldean ripped California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) Sunday over his order mandating students get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“So let me get this straight! It is no longer our decisions as parents (or free Americans) to make decisions about our kids, Gavin Newsom makes those decisions for us now?? You gotta be kidding me!” Aldean posted on Instagram. “People in California should be outraged and people everywhere else better start standing up and speaking out NOW. This is not how America and being free works.”

Newsom announced the first vaccine mandate in the nation for school students last week. Students will be required to be vaccinated for in-person schooling starting the semester following full approval from the Food and Drug Administration for their grade span (7-12 and K-6).

As The Daily Wire reported:

Newsom announced the mandate at a San Francisco middle school on Friday morning.

“We are all exhausted by this pandemic. We are all exhausted by this. And that is the purpose of this,” said Newsom. “We hope this encourages folks to get vaccinated.”

“We have no trepidation, no hesitancy in encouraging local districts to move forward more expeditiously.”

The Los Angeles Times reported: “The mandate would take effect for grades 7 through 12 the semester following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the vaccine for children ages 12 and over, according to the governor’s office. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade would be phased in after the vaccine is formally approved for younger children.”

The Times added that “rare medical and religious exemptions would be available.”

“Our schools already require vaccines for measles, mumps and more,” Newsom tweeted on Friday morning. “Why? Because vaccines work.”

Newsom’s press office described the policy as the first of its kind in the country and said it expects the requirement to take effect next year.

According to the Sacramento Bee, “Those who opt out of the requirement will have to enroll in independent study.”

“I believe we will be the first state in America to move forward with this mandate and requirement, but I do not believe, by any stretch of the imagination, that we will be the last state,” Newsom said. “I anticipate that other states will follow suit.”

Aldean and his wife, Brittany, have been outspoken about their conservative values and opinions. The couple recently received a barrage of criticism after posting on social media several pictures showing them and their children sporting anti-President Joe Biden clothing.

“I will never apologize for my beliefs or my love for my family and country,” Aldean posted in response to the backlash. “This is the greatest country in the world and I want to keep it that way.”

In August, Brittany conducted an Instagram live and told more about her and her husband’s decision to be outspoken about what they believe and how they handle the backlash. As The Daily Wire reported:

Taking questions from fans on Thursday night via Instagram, Brittany was asked, “What helped you be more open about your political views on here when most people don’t agree?”

“I think you’d be surprised how many people do agree but aren’t able to speak about their views. (And understandably so),” the 33-year-old said, according to Fox News. “The amount of supportive messages I get is unbelievable.”

“I personally don’t give a damn if people don’t agree with me,” Brittany continued. “I think it’s important now more than ever to stand for what you believe, even if it ‘goes against the grain.’”

A previous version of this article stated that children must be vaccinated before returning to school and as soon as they become eligible. The requirement goes into effect the semester after FDA approval, not as soon as they become eligible. 

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