THREE BILLS YOU’LL HEAR ABOUT, BUT LIKELY WON’T PASS

By the time you receive this newsletter, the Tennessee state legislature will have reconvened for the second half of the 113th General Assembly. Lawmakers in the Republican supermajority spent yesterday establishing the ground rules; now they’ll be settling into working several new proposals through the system. While some bills will pass into law, others don’t even have a chance. Instead, they’re introduced for a number of reasons, chiefly to push a narrative or receive attention in the press. Let’s take a look at which bills are all bark and no bite.

REPARATIONS

“Tennessee is the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan, yet my colleagues told me it was ‘too controversial’ to bring up legislation about reparations,” Rep. Justin Jones tweeted in late December. “Nonetheless, looking forward to filing a reparations bill in 2024. It is long overdue.”

A bill has yet to be filed, but it goes without saying that Tennessee likely won’t follow the lead of California and New York, no matter how many “fascist af” signs there are in the gallery.

GUN REFORM AND RED FLAGS

“We're not passing a red flag law.” Those were the words of Speaker Cameron Sexton when we interviewed him last August, days before the legislature’s extraordinary session on public safety. Going into this year’s General Assembly, it’s clear where Republicans stand when it comes to law-abiding gun owners and their freedoms.

Despite a number of headlines featuring activists and lobbyists calling for gun reform, the legislature’s record indicates that proposed red flags and other restrictions will be DOA. Over the last few years, Tennessee lawmakers have removed restrictions: in 2021, for example, we saw constitutional carry reinstated. All this is to say that the legislature will likely only consider gun safety laws and stricter punishments/restrictions for criminal behavior without encroaching on Second Amendment rights.

While we suspect Sen. Heidi Campbell’s red flag law won’t make it past committee, another bill of hers, filed alongside Rep. Bob Freeman, is a good example of the type of gun law that may have a fighting chance. This bill, if passed, would make it a misdemeanor to knowingly transfer a firearm to someone prohibited from purchasing or possessing one.

ABORTION

Newly elected State Rep. Aftyn Behn knows exactly how to get the press talking about abortion rights. She told the Scene that the legislation she filed with Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) is “a narrative piece to show just how draconian our abortion ban is.” While Behn’s retaliation against the state’s trigger ban will likely die a slow, highly publicized death, Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) may have better luck with a bill he’s reportedly filing. Called the Freedom to Have Children and a Family Act, it includes some small adjustments to the state’s abortion laws, allowing for a few additional exemptions.