Left-Wing Activist, Already Banned from Tennessee Capitol, Said Lawmakers Invited Him Inside

 

Left-wing activist Justin Jones walked into the Tennessee State Capitol Tuesday, more than a year after state officials banned him from the facility for allegedly assaulting then-Speaker of the House Glen Casada.

Various Republican and Democratic officials, as well as those from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, provided no information about how Jones entered the building.

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Tennessee Dem House Chair Wants ‘Statewide System to Trace the Steps’ of COVID-19 Patients

Tennessee House Democratic Caucus Chair Mike Stewart (D-Nashville) called on Gov. Bill Lee to create a “statewide system to trace the steps of those testing positive for COVID-19.”

“I call on Gov. Lee to use state resources to create a statewide contact tracing system including testing where necessary,” Stewart said in an interview with WKRN.

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Democratic State Rep. Staples Resigns As Assistant House Minority Leader Following Sexual Harassment Claim

State Rep. Rick Staples (D-TN-15) resigned from a leadership position in the House following allegations of sexual harassment, multiple media outlets have reported. Staples, of Knox County, on Thursday resigned as assistant House minority leader but will continue to represent Knoxville, WATE said. “I have already publicly apologized for any distress I unintentionally caused. I have decided to step down from my leadership position of Assistant House Minority Leader so I can end the unwarranted suffering on my family, continue to serve my constituents unimpeded and end any distractions this may bring to the Tennessee House,” Staples said in a released statement. “I look forward to following the recommendations of the Ethics Committee and pledge to remain the best servant to my constituency of District 15.  I’ll have no further comment going forward on this matter.” Tennessee legislative sources say a woman filed a sexual harassment complaint against Rep. Staples with the House Ethics Committee. Staples is also a member of that committee. House Republican Caucus Chair Cameron Sexton implied last week that Democratic leaders did not immediately take action on the complaint against Staples, and added that could be a violation, WKRN reported. House Democrat Caucus Chair Mike Stewart denied…

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Tennessee Now Protects Transgender People, Per State Attorney General Herbert Slatery

Tennessee now has a hate crime statute protecting transgender people, according to an opinion Republican state Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued earlier this month. Slatery wrote this opinion responding to a question from State Rep. Mike Stewart, D-Nashville. Tennessee’s statute protecting transgender people is the first such one in the South, according to The Tennessean. Slatery’s spokeswoman, Samantha Fisher, said Monday she had no comment. “We have nothing more to add to the opinion issued to Rep. Stewart February 8th which can be found on our website,” Fisher told The Tennessee Star. According to the state attorney general’s website, the end of that opinion says the following: For purposes of the hate-crime enhancement, a crime committed against a person because that person manifests a gender that is different than his or her biological gender at birth—i.e. a crime committed against a person because he or she is transgender—is thus necessarily committed because of, at least in part, the person’s gender. Members of the Family Action Council of Tennessee condemned Slatery’s opinion. According to Factn’s website, the organization fights for religious liberty. “In arriving at this conclusion, the attorney general ignored the fundamental canon of statutory construction that courts are ‘to…

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