U.S. senator drops bomb, says military members who refuse to get vaccinated risk dishonorable discharge and will lose right to vote, own guns

 A U.S. senator from Kansas is warning that military members who refuse to follow the Pentagon’s order to take a COVID-19 vaccine run the risk of being kicked out of the service with a dishonorable discharge, which will endanger their rights including voting and owning firearms.

“The White House wants to give servicemembers a dishonorable discharge if they’re separated because of refusing the vaccine. [Americans must] understand the significance of a dishonorable discharge,” Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican, warned in an interview with Breitbart Radio.

“Those folks will be treated as felons. They’ll never be able to get a job, again. They lose their Second Amendment. In some states, they won’t be able to vote, again. They lose their VA benefits, access to the VA hospitals, retirement plans,” he added.

 

Getting a dishonorable discharge may be the worst checkmark you can get in your life, and you talk about the Scarlet Letter, that’s what it ends up being. I’ve been told 10 [to] 20 percent of our servicemen are still not vaccinated,” he added, going on to point out that the Biden regime is refusing to acknowledge that anyone who has had the virus and recovered has better natural immunity than they would otherwise have if they took a vaccine.

“This is a policy out of a White House that says, ‘One size has to fit all. There’s no exception.’ It just doesn’t make sense. We’ve never asked people — military folks, especially — to get a vaccine for something they’re already immune to and something that doesn’t affect them, for the most part,” he continued.

“I encourage people to get their vaccines, but it’s an individual choice and certainly it’s not right for everybody,” Marshall added.

The Kansas Republican joined Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), James Lankford (R-OK), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) in legislation that would bar the Pentagon from issuing a dishonorable discharge to military personnel who refused to take the vaccine.

“As a physician and veteran who is confident that the vaccine has saved countless lives, I believe vaccinating our servicemembers against COVID-19 is an important effort; however, whether or not to receive the vaccine should be a personal choice between an individual and their doctor,” Marshall said in September.

“Servicemembers who refuse to get vaccinated, and are subsequently separated from the service, should not receive anything other than an honorable discharge. There is no question about it: American heroes should not be treated as felons because of their personal medical choices,” the senator added.

Just last week, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) joined in the call to protect servicemembers from reprisals by the Biden Defense Department for refusing to take a vaccine or for seeking a vaccine exemption.

“The service members were rightly praised for serving during a pandemic and through dangerous missions.  But, now they’re being forced out,” he said.

Local media outlet KSL adds:

On Aug. 25, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed U.S. military departments to begin administering the vaccine to military members who fall under the authority of the Department of Defense. They include active-duty members of the military, the Ready Reserve, and members of the National Guard.

But different branches of the military do not share similar deadlines for inoculation against COVID-19 (as each military branch was given autonomy when deciding a deadline for inoculation, as reported by US News and World Report).

According to Military.com, active-duty Air Force and Space Force troops have until Nov. 2nd to get vaccinated; Marines and sailors have a deadline of Nov. 28; and the Army has until Dec. 15. Army National Guard and Reserve have until June 30, 2022, to get vaccinated, while Air Guard and Reserve members have until Dec. 2.