Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn told The Tennessee Star Tuesday that she strongly supports the Tennessee National Guard soldiers who are about to be fired due to noncompliance with a vaccine mandate on Thursday.
Blackburn also mentioned she is working on federal legislation to help them.
“I stand with the men and women of the Tennessee National Guard. I’m actually working on legislation that would prohibit the National Guard from using any taxpayer funds to implement this mandate,” said Blackburn.
“To remove someone from service, which will be a decision of the National Guard Bureau, is completely inappropriate,” she added.
Blackburn went on to explain the problems with COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
“What we have learned about COVID is you can be vaccinated, boosted, double-boosted – you can be triple-boosted, and you can still end up getting COVID. Getting a vaccination is not something that is going to prevent you from getting COVID,” she said.
“Indeed, some people have mild cases. Some people never know they have it. Some people have a more complicated case and we need to bring some common sense to bear with this,” continued the senator.
Blackburn listed the feedback that she’s been getting from constituents who are choosing not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and their reasons for not doing so.
“As I talk to people, whether they’re moms, dads, in the military, or in the Guard – there are some people for medical reasons who do not want to take the vaccine. There are some people for religious reasons that do not want to take the vaccine. Certainly, these considerations need to be heard and we need to provide ways to work around with it,” Blackburn said.
The Star previously reported that as many as 10 percent of the total force of the Tennessee National Guard will be fired on Thursday due to those soldiers’ refusal to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Thousands more will be fired all around the United States.
Not included in those estimates are those who have already chosen to voluntarily leave the service or retire early rather than “inject themselves with something they believe to be detrimental to their health or conscience.”
Others who have requested exemptions for religious reasons, such as objections to their believed use of fetal cells in the development and testing of the vaccines, will follow shortly thereafter.
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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 “Marsha Blackburn and the Tennessee National Guard” by Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
