Commentary: The Left Fights Against Children, We Must Continue to Fight FOR Them

by Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and the Board of the Tennessee Faith & Freedom Coalition

 

The Marxist Left, dedicated to undermining the liberties, traditions, and values that make America unique and exceptional, is waging a war on children – both born and unborn – in the United States and even right here in Tennessee.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Marxist Left fought to keep schools shuttered and to forcibly mask our kids, resulting in an anxious, confused, and undereducated generation.

Now, they’ve moved on to child sexualization and mutilation. They hide their true intentions behind innocuous euphemisms like “gender-affirming care” and claim they are fighting for the rights of the oppressed, when in fact they are causing untold damage to our children.

They mock and ridicule the pro-life movement while promoting their ultimate goal of government-funded abortion on demand without limitations.

They create strawmen to divert attention away from underlying problems and slander fundamental freedoms like the right to keep and bear arms. Instead of working together on common sense school safety measures which were ultimately passed this last legislative session, they chose to focus on chipping away at the Constitution, even encouraging a near riot on the floor of the Tennessee State House when they failed to get their way through parliamentary procedures.

The one thing the Marxists never mention in their screeds is the very real and evil issue of child and human trafficking.

Human and child trafficking is a scourge in the United States of America and, sadly, right here in the state of Tennessee, one that occurs in every one of the 95 counties in our state.

Those trafficked are transported in subhuman conditions and enslaved using a variety of methods. They live without hope. And it happens to adults and children of all ages, ethnicities, and economic situations.

Yet, because it involved highlighting issues with our porous U.S. southern border, the Biden Administration has de-emphasized an anti-human trafficking task force that thrived under President Trump.

Fortunately, we are blessed to have tremendous conservative leadership in the Tennessee General Assembly, unapologetic warriors who fight to defend our children and our Constitution. But, if we are to win the fight against human trafficking, it will take all of us.

Law enforcement needs more resources to combat this abomination. Existing task forces must be expanded and new ones formed. Human and child traffickers must be found, arrested, tried, and, if convicted, face the harshest penalties our system of justice can offer.

The customers of trafficking must also face harsh penalties.

Willing prosecutors must be given the resources they need to put the criminals away. Unwilling prosecutors should be shown the door.

Colleges and other schools need training seminar programs to warn students against the danger so they can learn how to avoid falling prey to it.

Those rescued from being trafficked need more beds and resources that help them begin their lives anew.

We are unabashedly dedicated to ending child and human trafficking in our state. Our commitment is to never rest until not a single person falls victim to its horrors.

Matthew 18:6 says, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

All of us must seek to become the millstone around the necks of human and child traffickers that Matthew 18:6 describes.

Let’s ensure we win this fight and make it sooner rather than later. Our families, neighbors, friends, and most of all, our children are depending on it.

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Glenn Jacobs was first elected as mayor of Knox County in 2018 and was overwhelmingly reelected in 2022. He is known around Tennessee as a strong conservative and thoughtful leader. When many were locking down their cities and counties, Mayor Jacobs fought government overreach and refused to bow. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was a champion for business owners, fighting tooth and nail against the lockdowns and mandates.

The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition is the premier grassroots advocacy organization for people of faith and allies in the state of Tennessee. They are a leading voice in advocating against child and human trafficking, as well as many other issues that are near and dear to the hearts of conservatives. The Board consists of Chairman Aaron Spradlin, Scott Nelson, Dave Galbraith, and Greg Lewis.