Jason Aldean is lashing out against California Governor Gavin Newsom‘s recent vaccine mandate, which requires school children to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before attending in-person learning.
“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,” said Aldean in an Instagram post on Sunday. “You gotta be kidding me!”
The 44-year-old “Dirt Road Anthem” singer continued, “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.”
While Aldean garnered the support of celebrities such as Candace Owens, Jon Pardi, Gavin Degraw and Parker McCollum, others have challenged the singer about schools mandating vaccinations against other highly contagious illnesses, such as polio and chickenpox.
Last Friday, California became the first state in the nation to require children between the ages of 12 and 17 be vaccinated against COVID-19, pending full FDA approval, before they can attend schools for in-person learning.
Americans aged 12 and up are already eligible for the Pfizer vaccine under an emergency use authorization. Full approval, which is a longer process, has been granted by the FDA for those over 16.
Newsom made the announcement as the nation surpassed 700,000 COVID-19-related deaths, which is more than Vermont’s entire population, according to census data.
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