Tag Archives: Tennessee

TN Lawmakers Approve Snitch Line For Professors

Knoxville’s NBC affiliate reports: A bill that made its way through the Tennessee legislature aims to strengthen rules passed last year that can change how schools approach teaching many kinds of lessons in social justice, racial inequity, political science, social work, psychology and many other fields. The bill, HB 1376, was introduced by Representative John Ragan (R – Oak Ridge). …

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TN Speaker Secretly Lives In Home Outside District

Popular Information reports: Tennessee Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) secretly bought a home in Nashville for nearly $600,000 in September 2021 through an anonymous trust, Popular Information has learned. The revelation raises serious new questions about whether Sexton can legally represent Crossville, which is nearly two hours from Nashville. If Sexton is not a “qualified voter” in Crossville, he is ineligible …

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Second Expelled Dem Rep Reappointed To TN House

Memphis’s CBS affiliate reports: The Shelby County Commission voted Wednesday to reappoint Justin J. Pearson to the state House seat from which he was expelled. All seven commissioners present voted yes on the reappointment. Commission Chairman Mickell Lowery said he believes the expulsion of Pearson by House Republicans was conducted in a hasty manner, and ramifications for the state are …

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Tennessee City OKs Pride Festival In 5-4 Vote [VIDEO]

Nashville’s Fox affiliate reports: The City of Franklin voted to allow the annual Pride festival to occur in town this year. This comes right after the city decided to wait to vote on the “community decency” policy for another few weeks. The result came after the aldermen tied 4-4 in their votes, making it so Mayor Ken Moore of Franklin …

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GOP Tennessee Governor Calls For Red Flag Gun Law

The Tennessean reports: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at strengthening background checks for firearm purchases, in addition to calling for lawmakers to pass an order of protection law to keep guns away from people who present a danger to themselves or others. “I’m asking the General Assembly to bring forward an order of protection …

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TN Dems Push To Reinstate Second Expelled State Rep

Reuters reports: Tennessee Democrats on Tuesday will press for the reinstatement of the second of two state representatives who were expelled for leading a rule-breaking gun policy protest on the floor of the statehouse, after the first was reinstated on Monday. Justin Jones pumped his fist and declared “power to the people” as he returned to the state House of …

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Christians Seek To Ban Tennessee Pride Festival

NBC News reports: For the past two years, thousands of people have descended on a public park in Franklin, Tennessee — a suburb 30 minutes outside Nashville — for an LGBTQ pride festival featuring live music, food trucks and crafts vendors. But this year, Franklin Pride’s attempts to obtain a city permit have been met with fierce resistance. What had …

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Nashville Council Unanimously Reinstates Dem Rep

The Tennessean reports: Nashville Rep. Justin Jones will reclaim his seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives with the backing of Nashville’s Council, which voted to reappoint him four days after he was expelled for leading chants for gun reform with a bullhorn on the chamber floor. In one of its first legislative actions following a shooting at a Nashville …

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GOP Threatens To Defund Memphis If Rep Is Reinstated

Memphis’s Fox affiliate reports: A Shelby County commissioner told FOX13 on Friday that Nashville leaders are threatening to take away funding from Memphis and other Shelby County projects if the county commission decides to reinstate expelled state Rep. Justin J. Pearson. According to Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, leaders in Nashville threatened to pull state funding for projects in the …

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Nashville Council To Reinstate Ousted Dem State Rep

NBC News reports: A majority of members of the Nashville Metropolitan Council will vote to reinstate Justin Jones to the Tennessee state Legislature after he was expelled from the House of Representatives on Thursday over his protests on the chamber floor against gun violence. Twenty-three members of the 40-seat Metropolitan Council confirmed to NBC News or on social media that …

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Harris Visits Tennessee To Meet With Ousted Dems

The Tennessean reports: Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday plans to meet with the three lawmakers who battled for their seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives this week. A White House official confirmed the Vice President’s trip to Nashville, saying Harris is visiting to lift “the voices” of thousands of young votes who have led massive demonstrations at the …

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Fox Hosts Defend Expulsion Of Tennessee Democrats: This Sends A Message Not To Storm Our Govt Buildings

Fox & Friends host Will Cain: I’m listening to President Biden, and I’m just trying to understand — and I’m going to feign some inability to understand this because I fully get that the use of protecting democracy or accusing something of being undemocratic is just a proxy for ‘I want you to lose.’ So during January 6th, people condemn-ably …

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Biden Condemns “Shocking” Expulsion Of TN Dems

Via press release from the White House: Last week, three more students and three school officials were gunned down in yet another tragic mass shooting in Nashville. On Monday, 7,000 Tennesseans, many of them students, marched to their state capitol to call on their lawmakers to take action and keep them safe. Instead, state Republican lawmakers called votes today to …

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Tennessee GOP Expels Second Black Democrat [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: In an extraordinary act of political retaliation, Tennessee Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest calling for more gun control in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. A third Democrat was narrowly spared by a one-vote margin. The split votes drew accusations of …

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Tennessee GOP Expels Black Dem, White Dem Survives By One Vote: “Might Have To Do With Our Skin Color”

The Tennessean reports: Ten days after a shooter unloaded 152 rounds inside a Nashville school and killed six people, Tennessee House Republicans on Thursday began attempts to expel from the General Assembly three Democratic lawmakers for breaking House rules and mounting a gun reform protest on the chamber’s floor. The House expelled Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, on a 72-25 vote …

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LIVE VIDEO: Tennessee House Votes On Expelling Dems

The Tennessean reports: Cheers erupted as Jones, Johnson and Pearson stepped off the elevator on the second floor at 9:02 a.m. Raising joined hands, they slowly walked down between lines of state troopers toward the House chamber door. From the floor, they roused cheers from the crowd in the galleries before the chamber gaveled in for business. During welcoming and …

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Tennessee GOP Likely To Expel Three Dem State Reps

Reuters reports: Republicans who control the Tennessee House of Representatives will vote on Thursday on whether to expel three Democratic members for their role in a gun control demonstration at the statehouse last week. Last Friday’s protest saw hundreds of demonstrators flood into the statehouse, four days after a Nashville school shooting ended with three 9-year-old children and three school …

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Chaos In TN House As GOP Seeks To Expel Dem Reps

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee Republican lawmakers took the first steps Monday to expel three Democratic members from the GOP-dominant House for their role in a recent gun control protest at the state Capitol. The extraordinarily rare move resulted in a chaotic and fiery confrontation between lawmakers and supporters opposing the move. Resolutions have been filed against Reps. Gloria Johnson, …

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Tennessee Punishes Dem Reps For Gun Reform Protest

The Knoxville News reports: The Republican leadership of Tennessee’s House of Representatives stripped state Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, of her committee assignments April 3 in retaliation for her peaceful participation in last week’s demonstration for gun reform that spilled over to the House floor March 30, Knox News has learned. When asked whether her assignments had been rescinded, state Rep. …

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Trump Judge Blocks Tennessee Ban On Drag Shows

Reuters reports: A federal judge in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday temporarily blocked a law restricting drag performances in public from going into effect, saying it was likely “vague and overly-broad” in its restriction of speech. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee [photo], a Republican, in February, had signed the bill passed by the state’s legislature that was meant to go into effect …

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