Country music singer and songwriter Travis Tritt is calling for freedom amid governments and private companies mandating COVID-19 vaccines.
“In light of recently announced policies and mandates from some entertainment companies, promoters, and local municipalities which would discriminate against specific concert attendees who are not vaccinated, I feel compelled to make a statement,” Tritt said. “I have always been a huge defender of basic human rights and liberty for all. No government, employer, or private entity should ever be allowed to infringe on those rights and liberties.”
Tritt’s comments come amid concert venues across the country requiring vaccination proof for entry. Live Nation, an entertainment group that hosts 40,000 shows and sells 500 million tickets each year, announced last week that all attendees and performers to a concert will need to either show proof of vaccination or get a negative COVID-19 test before gaining entry. This is scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 4.
Venues in Arizona have banded together to require attendees to show vaccine proof or a negative test to gain entry before October. Massachusetts venues have done the same. The controversy has led to speculation in Texas as to how the Live Nation policy will bode with Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on vaccine passports through SB 968.
“If you agree that any form of discrimination should be condemned and that basic human rights are worth defending, I urge you to stand up with me and let your voices be heard,” said Tritt. “The only way these injustices can be defeated is with a unified front against them.”
Mandates are not restricted to the private sector, however. President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that the federal government will require all nursing home staff to get vaccinated. This applies to about 15,000 homes, and facilities that do not enforce the policy stand to lose Medicaid and Medicare funds.
“Use your voice to stand for what is right and against what is wrong. Long live freedom!” Tritt also said.
