NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Lt. Governor Randy McNally issued a statement to The Tennessee Star in support of saving the jobs of the Tennessee National Guard members who are scheduled to lose their jobs on June 30 due to their refusal to comply with the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
“The mission of our National Guard is the defense of our state and our homeland, not political correctness. The Biden administration is once again putting left-wing woke politics ahead of our national interest. While COVID-19 is still with us, it has moved past the pandemic phase and become endemic,” he said.
“It is simply inappropriate to penalize our service men and women for personal medical decisions at this point. If the Biden administration attempts to follow through on this threat, I am hopeful our state will take any and all steps at our disposal to stop them,” emphasized Lt. Governor McNally.
Previously reported, Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson stood with the Tennessee National Guard soldiers, saying:
It is a travesty that the Biden Administration is prepared to fire brave men and women who faithfully serve our state and nation in the TN National Guard because of their COVID-19 vaccine status. I have spoken with the Governor’s office and encouraged them to do everything they can to protect these Guard members. We should celebrate those who are willing to serve their fellow citizens in uniform, not penalize them because of a personal medical decision. I call on President Biden to immediately intervene and allow our brave National Guard members to do their job without fear of reprisal due to their vaccine status.
Earlier Monday, State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) issued a statement to The Star, expressing her solidarity with the soldiers of the Tennessee National Guard.
“I will continue to fight against any governmental or private sector mandate on taking these experimental, prophylactic shots. The federal mandate violates the constitutionally protected right of personal sovereignty of each individual in medical choices,” she said.
“Our Guardsmen swear an oath to protect our constitutional rights. It is egregious for those in authority over our Guardsmen to violate the oath they are also sworn to uphold,” Bowling added.
“I join in asking our Governor to protect our Guardsmen against this unlawful overreach. As the Constitutional Republic, based on the rule of law, this federal overreach must be called what it is… an act of tyranny,” she concluded.
Several other state senators have expressed public support for the guardsmen. Lt. Governor McNally is now the highest-ranking public official in the state of Tennessee to express his public support.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR, Twitter, Truth Social, and Parler.
Photo “Randy McNally” by Adam Kleinheider. CC BY-SA 4.0. Background Photo “Tennessee National Guard” by Tennessee National Guard.
