Jason Aldean Blasts California Governor’s Vaccine Decision

Jason Aldean is weighing in on California politics and the state's governor's announcement that the state will mandate COVID-19 vaccines in schools.

Last Friday (Oct. 1), Governor Gavin Newsom declared that California will add a COVID-19 vaccine to the list of vaccines required for students to attend public schools — the new mandate will be phased in as a vaccine becomes available for children.

Per NBC News, the state of California currently requires vaccines for 10 other illnesses, including measles and mumps. Many states have similar mandates. On Instagram, Aldean expressed his opinion on whether the decision to get vaccinated should be left to parents.

"So let me get this straight! It is no longer our decisions as parents (or free Americans) to make decisions about our kids," he writes. "Gavin Newsom makes those decisions for us now?? You gotta be kidding me."

The photo above is a screenshot of a SF Gate article, published on Friday afternoon. Aldean's response came on Sunday (Oct. 3).

"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," Aldean adds.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, all 50 states have legislation requiring multiple vaccinations before kids can enter public schools, though all offer exemptions for medical reasons. Most, too, give exemptions for religious reasons, and some offer exemptions for philosophical reasons. Aldean's home state of Tennessee only offers religious exemptions to vaccine mandates.

No state currently requires COVID-19 vaccines for public school attendance in addition to the other required vaccines. While several have discussed legislation that could do so, many more have begun developing legislation that would ban that requirement.

The "If I Didn't Love You" singer has rarely been this overtly political on his social media pages, although last month he defended his wife and kids wearing anti-Joe Biden T-shirts on Brittany Aldean's Instagram page.

"I will never apologize for my beliefs," he later shared on his own IG. "This is the greatest country in the world and I want to keep it that way."