Metro Nashville Council Member Erica Gilmore Tells the State & Congress ‘We Make the Laws’

  In the last moments of Metro Council’s debate over the second reading of the now withdrawn sanctuary city ordinance before the June 20 vote, Nashville Council Member-at-Large Erica Gilmore, tried to assert non-existent local authority over illegal immigration, claiming “[w]e make the laws. We decide whether something is legal or not.” When the vote was held later that evening, Gilmore was among the 25 members of Metro Council who voted yes. Only 8 members of the Metro Council voted no. Had it not been for a vast grassroots uprising, an unfavorable legal opinion from Metro Legal Director, and a letter signed by more than 63 members of the Tennessee House of Representatives telling the Metro Council the Tennessee General Assembly would not let such an ordinance stand, the ordinance may have passed on a third reading. But the ordinances sponsors, Council Members Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge permanently withdrew the ordinance in light of the public backlash, and it never came to a vote on a third and final reading. But on the evening of June 20, Gilmore let her constituents know exactly where she stands on the issue. “I’m concerned when we have to talk about what’s American,…

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Randy Boyd: ‘If I’m Elected Governor, I Will Work to Make Sure There Are No Sanctuary Cities in Tennessee’

Tennessee Star

Gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd posted on his campaign’s Facebook page late Tuesday evening that he is opposed to sanctuary cities, and urged residents of Davidson County to tell their Metro Council members to oppose the proposed sanctuary city ordinace. “Sanctuary Cities are illegal,” Boyd’s post began. “Washington has made a complete mess of our immigration system. But here in Tennessee, we will follow the law and must say NO to illegal immigration and Sanctuary Cities,” Boyd said. “I encourage everyone in Metro Nashville/Davidson County to quickly contact their Metro Council members and encourage them to strongly oppose these Metro ordinances that would ignore the law. If I’m elected Governor, I will work to make sure there are no Sanctuary Cities in Tennessee on my watch, ” Boyd concluded. Later on Tuesday evening, Boyd released a slightly longer version of his Facebook post as a statement on his campaign website, which included an extra sentence in which he “commend[ed] our state’s legislative leaders for speaking out.”: Nashville, Tenn. – Randy Boyd, Republican candidate for Governor, released the following statement today regarding proposed Metro Council ordinances and current Sanctuary City debate in Nashville: “Sanctuary Cities are illegal. Washington has made a complete…

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Now It’s 65 Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Who Oppose Nashville’s Sanctuary City Ordinance

Two more Republican members of the Tennessee House of Representatives have joined their 63 colleagues in expressing their opposition to Nashville proposed sanctuary city ordinance. On Monday, State Rep. Judd Matheny, State Rep. Bryan Terry and State Rep. Sheila Butt released a letter signed by 63 Republican members of the House expressing their opposition to the controversial ordinance, which will receive a third and final reading at the Metro Nashville Council meeting on July 6. On Tuesday, State Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) and State Rep. Kevin Brooks (R-Cleveland) released their own letter, bringing the total number of Republican members of the Tennessee House of Representatives on the record in opposition to the proposed sanctuary city ordinance to 65. The press release provided to The Tennessee Star by Rep. Kevin Brooks on his official letterhead dated June 26, 2017, states: Wilson and Bradley County Representatives Express Strong Opposition to Sanctuary City Ordinances (NASHVILLE) – Representatives Susan Lynn (R-Wilson) and Representative Kevin Brooks (R-Bradley) today expressed disapproval of two ordinances proposed by Metro Councilmen Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge.  The ordinances would in effect make Nashville a sanctuary city. “In 2009, the state legislature made it clear that sanctuary cities are prohibited in Tennessee.  I…

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Nine State Senators Join 63 House Members in Opposing Nashville Sanctuary City Ordinance, More Expected

Tennessee Star

  Nine State Senators released a letter Tuesday joining the 63 members of the Tennessee House of Representatives who on Monday expressed their unequivocal opposition to a proposed sanctuary city ordinance that awaits a third and final vote in Metro Nashville Council on July 6. The Council passed the controversial ordinance on second reading June 20 in a 25 to 8 vote. The letter was released by the office of State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), an announced candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, and is signed (physically or virtually) by eight additional State Senators, including State Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta), Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville), Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville), Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield), Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin), Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald), Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), and Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma). The two-page statement begins: With the Second Reading of the Ordinances filed by Metro Councilmen Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge having passed and a vote pending from the Metro Council, we are compelled to make public the intent and purposes of this Ordinance and to make it known that as Representatives of the State of Tennessee, we soundly object to their passage. Tennessee is currently being represented by the Thomas More Law Center…

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Gubernatorial Candidate Randy Boyd Donated $250,000 to La Raza Affiliate And Has Not Renounced Nashville Sanctuary City Ordinance

  Almost immediately after the Metro Nashville Council voted on second reading to pass a sanctuary city ordinance last week, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06), State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) and gubernatorial candidates, Mae Beavers and Bill Lee, issued strong rebukes to the city’s move to violate federal and state law. The Randy Boyd campaign, despite being asked directly by The Tennessee Star for a comment regarding the proposed Nashville ordinance, did not respond. In a state where The Tennessee Star’s polling results showed that 1,007 likely Republican primary voters rejected in-state college tuition for illegal aliens by a stunning 84 percent to 11 percent margin and where 1.5 million voters helped elect President Trump, Boyd’s silence on a key immigration issue, could prove costly to his campaign. Three days after announcing his candidacy for governor on March 6, 2017, The Star reported on Boyd’s $250,000 donation in 2016 to Conexion Americas, an affiliate partner of the National Council of La Raza (NC La Raza). Renata Soto, co- founder and executive director of Conexion Americas served for three years as vice-president of the NC La Raza Board and was elected to lead the NC La Raza board in 2015, the year before Boyd made his donation. Days later The Star asked Boyd whether he knew…

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