A Colorado gun control activist last week posted a photo of fellow activists from an out-of-state gun control group phone banking to residents in Tennessee.
“Phone banking to Tennessee to help people contact their lawmakers about Secure Storage and Extreme Risk Protection Orders,” said an August 12 tweet from Pat Rottschaefer, who describes herself as a “proud member of Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety.”
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A Democrat State Representative from Nashville has introduced the first red flag laws during the special session of the General Assembly, which began Monday.
Rep. Bob Freeman (D-District 56) introduced HB 7100 Friday, which was followed by the introduction of its Tennessee Senate counterpart SB 7029 on Monday. State Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-District 21) is responsible for introducing SB 7029.
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A slew of new bills have been introduced by Tennessee legislators ahead of the special session of the General Assembly that begins on Monday.
State Representative Mark Cochran (R-Englewood) (pictured above, right) introduced HB 7016 on Wednesday, which creates criminal penalties for “recklessly, by any means of communication, threatening to commit an act of mass violence,” and “requires the court to determine whether a defendant charged with threatening to commit an act of mass violence is a threat to the public prior to release on bail.”
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Democrat Tennessee lawmakers Wednesday stopped in Chattanooga on their gun control bus tour, which began two weeks ago and will end in Nashville on August 21, the day the special session of the General Assembly, focused on gun control, will begin.
The tour has been led by State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-District 55), and has been supported by likely U.S. Senate candidate and current State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-District 90), who appeared at Wednesday’s event.
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Left-wing protestors disrupted the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition’s monthly meeting in Williamson County Tuesday night, which focused on the group’s efforts to combat human trafficking in the state.
About 80 protestors gathered at the event, according to Aaron Gulbransen, the executive director of the group.
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A member of the Tennessee General Assembly Tuesday told The Tennessee Star that Gov. Bill Lee (R) will not ask Republicans to submit a bill for red flag laws during the upcoming special session.
“The Governor is not pushing any type of gun control legislation nor is he pushing red flag legislation,” State Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) told The Star by email. “I was on the legislative task force the Governor pulled together to discuss options. He never once brought up or asked us to support a red flag law during the 3 meetings we discussed specific topics.”
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The first bills for the upcoming special session of the General Assembly, officially scheduled Tuesday by Gov. Bill Lee (R), have been filed.
The special session begins on August 21, but according to the General Assembly’s website, legislation is already in the works.
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A member of the State House of Representatives and likely U.S. Senate candidate who sources say will use the upcoming special session of the General Assembly as a platform to launch her campaign is promoting events for gun control groups.
State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) is boosting a pop-up gun control group called “Our Kids Deserve Better,” asking her Twitter followers to promote the group.
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A new gun control nonprofit in Tennessee commended Gov. Bill Lee (R), who Tuesday officially issued a proclamation calling for a special session of the General Assembly, which will focus on gun laws.
“We commend Governor Bill Lee for issuing the official call for a special session to begin on Aug. 21, 2023, at 4 p.m.,” said Voices for a Safer Tennessee on its website. “While Tennesseans have voiced support for a broader scope of solutions to be considered during the special session, opening doors to discuss orders of protection, beginning to address background check challenges, and educating the public on the value of secure storage, are first steps in the right direction and mark the beginning of a process that will carry into the 2024 Tennessee General Assembly and beyond.”
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State Rep. Gloria Johnson (R-Knoxville) formed an exploratory committee for her expected run for U.S. Senate, and a Nashville insider told The Tennessee Star that Johnson is expected to use the upcoming special session of the General Assembly as a bully pulpit to raise the profile of her campaign.
“I’ve been told by people in the general assembly that say that she’s officially announcing the day before session, and then she’s going to roll right into session and grandstand and make the session about her campaign,” the source told The Star, adding that Johnson is expected to “ham it up with her two buddies,” referring to Reps. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Knoxville).
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Tennessee’s Democrat elected officials will embark upon a statewide bus tour to discuss gun violence, which will end at the state capitol on the first day of the August special session on gun control.
“I’m here to announce a statewide effort that we are spearheading,” said Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville), the Democrat caucus chair in a Monday morning press conference. “You know, too often we state legislators spend a great deal of time up here in the state capitol spinning our wheels about important issues. But today I’m announcing that my colleagues and I are putting some wheels on the road and heading out across the state to personally hear from and speak with Tennessee families on this important matter.”
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A State Representative who was expelled from the General Assembly for his role in a gun control riot at the Capitol Building in Nashville will host town halls in Memphis to discuss the same topic with his constituents ahead of August’s special session of the General Assembly.
State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) was expelled from the General Assembly in April alongside colleague State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville). Both men led a protest-turned-riot at the State Capitol in March, just after the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville.
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The political action arm of a left-wing nonprofit that advocates for gun control is moving into Tennessee, according to new lobbyist registration documents.
Three members of the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund, Calandrian Kemp, Samuel Tolliver, and Aurora Vasquez, have registered to become lobbyists on behalf of the organization in the Volunteer State.
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A new nonprofit that has set its sights on gun control in Tennessee is run by wealthy Republican and Democrat political insiders, The Tennessee Star has found.
Voices for a Safer Tennessee pitches itself as an upstart group comprised of both Democrats and Republicans that spontaneously formed in the wake of The Covenant School shooting in Nashville on March 27.
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A group of young far-left activists protested in favor of gun control in Sumner County Friday.
A coalition called Protect Guns Not Kids is a pop-up group that has gained traction by protesting against guns across Tennessee, including at the Tennessee Capitol, after a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that claimed six lives.
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Tennessee’s House Majority Whip Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) told The Tennessee Star Thursday that he has spoken directly to Gov. Bill Lee (R) and that he will not be supporting Lee’s agenda to implement red flag laws during the upcoming special session of the General Assembly.
“There is no red flag proposal from Gov. Lee to consider as our caucus will not support the destruction of our citizens’ constitutional rights,” said Garrett. “I have been in contact with the governor and have expressed the desire to address mental illness through treatment and resources for those who may be a threat to themselves and others. These conversations will continue, and we’ll determine the best ways we can help these individuals in crisis while improving public safety in communities across our state.”
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According to a poll published by co/efficient, the vast majority of Tennesseans would prefer that dangerous people are removed from society, rather than removing guns from the hands of potentially dangerous people.
“In the poll, Tennessee voters dramatically retreat from their soft support of proposed Red Flag Laws and do not see this as the solution to their safety concerns when informed that Red Flag Laws merely take guns away from dangerous individuals but do nothing to prevent them from causing harm by some other means. Red Flag Law support erodes even further when informed that there are existing laws to take threatening individuals out of the community right now,” the poll said. “Tennesseans largely support recently passed legislation that puts police officers in schools and believe enforcing the current laws on the books is an effective solution to keeping their families, communities, and state safe.”
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According to State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville), also a candidate for mayor of Nashville, Gov. Bill Lee (R) met with Campbell before he announced his August special session of the General Assembly, which will focus on gun control.
“I met with the Governor prior to his announcement of the special session but have not heard from him about this bill package,” Campbell told The Tennessee Star Friday. “My office would welcome the opportunity.”
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After The Tennessee Star exposed the far-left’s plan to disrupt and commit acts of violence during the August special session of the Tennessee General Assembly, Gov. Bill Lee’s office could not even be reached for comment.
The Star followed up with Lee’s office on its series of exclusive reporting of audio obtained from inside a far-left gathering hosted by Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood, but the phone number for Lee’s spokesperson goes directly to a voicemail box that is full, and cannot take new messages.
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Representatives from the State Freedom Caucus Network issued a statement of support Wednesday for the Tennessee House members who publicly rejected Governor Bill Lee’s call for a special session to pass gun control and red flag laws.
Earlier Wednesday, Tennessee State Representatives Bryan Richey (R-Maryville) issued an open letter to the governor, signed on to by Representatives Ed Butler (R-Rickman) and Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill), urging the abandonment of the special session scheduled for August 21.
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Richey and his colleagues urge the governor to abandon the special session proposed for August 21 in response to The Covenant School tragedy, because the General Assembly can discuss and consider legitimate measures to improve public safety when it reconvenes in January 2024.
While acknowledging that the governor has the constitutional authority to call a special session, the letters states that it “will be a political event to put pressure on conservative Republicans to grow government and ignore the will of their constituents in service to the national woke mob that will descend on the Capitol.”
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United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it is committed to maintaining peace ahead of August’s special session of the Tennessee General Assembly after far-left agitators said they plan to wreak havoc at ICE’s Nashville office.
Last week, The Tennessee Star reported that left-wing activists plan to protest outside ICE, and that one of their tactics is to disable ICE vehicles.
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After The Tennessee Star last week reported that far-left agitators plan to disable U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) vehicles while violently rioting during August’s special session of the legislature, The Star reached out to ICE to see if the law enforcement entity had any plans to quell the potential rioters.
After multiple comment requests and a promise to provide a statement, the agency did not respond to The Star’s inquiry.
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In secretly obtained recordings of a training session for far-left activists held Saturday in Nashville, participants said communities would be safer without any police at all.
During a part of the training hosted by Katia Carillo, who runs a small upstart community group called Conmigo, Carillo asked the trainees what their perfect utopian communities would look like.
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A former Nashville Public Radio reporter spoke at a far-left activist planning session as left-wing agitators plan to disrupt August’s special session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
The Tennessee Star received secret audio recordings of the meeting, and has reported extensively on the contents of those recordings.
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After obtaining a secret audio recording from a far-left Saturday activist planning session in Nashville, The Tennessee Star can reveal locations wherein left-wing agitators plan to wreak havoc during August’s special session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Those locations include Amazon’s Nashville office, the Lee Company, owned by Gov. Bill Lee (R), and the Metro Council.
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After obtaining secret recordings from an activism planning session held by Planned Parenthood’s political advocacy arm in Tennessee, The Tennessee Star learned that far-left agitators are planning to disable U.S. Customs and Immigration (ICE) vehicles during August’s special session of the General Assembly.
During the day-long training, which was held Saturday at 50 Vantage Way in Nashville, where Planned Parenthood has an office, the will-be protestors surveyed the danger levels of protesting at various places in the city.
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In secretly recorded audio files from a Saturday planning session among far-leftists in Nashville obtained by The Tennessee Star, left-wing agitators say they plan to “bird dog” Republican lawmakers during August’s special session of the General Assembly.
Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood held a training session for activists in Nashville, which was run by Julie Edwards, the organization’s advocacy & organizing manager, along with the organization’s Executive Director Francie Hunt.
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In secret audio obtained by The Tennessee Star, radical leftists who plan to “protest” the upcoming August special session of the General Assembly say they have armed security at the ready.
“Also, like there are groups in Nashville who do this – keep in mind – who like, if at any point you need armed security at a protest, there are people who we trust as a community to show up and do that,” said an organizer of the Saturday meeting.
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