If Tennessee's Republican Governor and Republican controlled Legislature are truly strong 2nd Amendment supporters, why are gun control advocates celebrating Tennessee's last 2 legislative sessions?
A news report from the Johnson City Press
on May 16, 2022, provides further evidence that Bill Lee and the
Tennessee Legislature, under the absolute control of a Republican super
majority, should be viewed as complete failures on their sworn oaths to protect our constitutionally protected rights in Tennessee.
As noted in the Johnson City Press article, the simple fact that gun control advocates are “… praising legislators for concluding the two-year session without “advancing a single gun lobby priority”
makes it abundantly clear that these gun control advocates view the
results of the last two years under the oversight of Governor Bill Lee,
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, and Speaker Cameron Sexton as a complete failure
for Second Amendment advocates.
The newspaper states
Linda McFadyen-Ketchum, a
volunteer with the Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action, said in a
news release: “We’re thrilled to be celebrating a session with no bad
gun bills passed, but we know far more needs to be done to make our
state safe from gun violence.”
The Johnson City Press continued to note the exuberance of these gun
control groups at the apparent intentional failures of the Republican
controlled Tennessee government to remove existing infringements on 2nd
Amendment rights and to enact legislation to address other issues like
the two “Kyle Rittenhouse” bills that would have tempered over zealous
district attorneys who lack respect for the right of self-defense. The
paper’s article continues:
McFadyen-Ketchum said Moms Demand Action hopes to build upon this year’s success on Capitol Hill.
“We
will take this momentum right back into the fight as we continue to
urge lawmakers to prioritize public safety beyond the legislative
session,” she said.
…
Gun safety advocates say they
lobbied heavily this year to derail passage of a number of harmful gun
bills, including HB1735, which would have lowered the age requirement
for carrying a concealed, loaded handgun in public from 21 to 18, and
HB2554, which would have allowed people with enhanced carry permits to
carry firearms in all places at all times with limited exceptions.
But the fact is that these Republicans and their predecessors,
particularly acting collectively, have had the opportunity repeatedly to
enact REAL constitutional carry, to eliminate or reduce the number of
gun free zones, to pass criminal immunity in self-defense cases, to
remove “handgun only” limits, to erase equal protection violations for some 18-20 year olds … but as a caucus they have consistently refused to do so.
It
is clear that the General Assembly’s missed – if not destroyed –
opportunities in the last 2 years are just more evidence of the Republican super majority failure to restore our rights -now.
Certainly
there are some legislators, both Republican and an occasional Democrat,
who truly believe and want to pass substantial advancements to restore
our 2nd Amendment rights. Their task is much harder when their peers in
the legislature are predominately opposed to doing so. Their task is
much harder when Bill Lee’s administration sends taxpayer funded
administration employees, like Elizabeth Stroeker to advocate for the continued oppression of your constitutionally protected rights.
The
fact is that it is now election season in Tennessee. Your votes, your
volunteer efforts, your PAC contributions, your candidate support can
make a difference. However, it is critical to realize that many of the
legislators who are and who have been a significant problem on Second
Amendment issues are identifying themselves as “Republicans” and, sadly,
many of them are completely unopposed in their re-election bids. That
makes it even more critical to fight across the state on the massive
“election chessboard” so that hopefully enough true conservatives get
elected in 2022 to change the direction of the Republican caucuses in
the House and Senate for the next 2 years.
TFA is presently
surveying candidates and will post those results in June. Don’t be
surprised, however, if you look at the survey results and see that many
of Tennessee’s Republican legislative incumbents failed or refused to
respond to the TFA’s survey. Why? They may not want you to know where
they stand on these specific issues.
TFALAC Annual Event
The TFALAC (TFA’s political action committee) has set its annual BBQ
lunch and auction for Saturday, September 3, 2022 at the Farm Bureau
Expo Center in Wilson county, Tennessee. Please sign up as sponsors, vendors or purchase your tables and tickets.
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