Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, said the Tennessee House of Representatives should have introduced a “clean” universal school choice bill instead of attaching additional incentives not particularly related to school choice to the bill.
While the governor’s school choice bill in the House includes additional incentives, the Senate’s version solely focuses on the governor’s proposal.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) announced Friday that two members of the Tennessee General Assembly have been honored as the Senate and House Conservative Champions this legislative session.
According to the organization, TNFFC’s Conservative Champion awards are given to legislators in the General Assembly who “most ardently defend the Constitution, rights and freedoms” of the Volunteer State citizens.
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A bill that would make child rape punishable by the death penalty has passed the Tennessee Senate.
SB 1834, sponsored by State Senator Ken Yager (R-Kingston), “authorizes the death penalty as a punishment for rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, or especially aggravated rape of a child.”
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The Tennessee Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass the Protect Tennessee Minors Act, which would require online websites that distribute “content harmful to minors” to implement age-verification methods to verify the age of users attempting to access the material.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law a bill that protects the religious convictions of people approached to solemnize or officiate a marriage.
“A person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs,” reads the new law which took effect on Wednesday.
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Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, said the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly is “pretty normal” despite state lawmakers still reeling from last year’s events by the “Tennessee Three” Democrats and the special session.
“It’s kind of normal, to be honest with you. Now, I will say, I think everybody has a little bit of PTSD after last year with all the shenanigans that Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson pulled and then the contentiousness of the special session and the lead up to that and right after that. But it’s relatively normal,” Gulbransen explained on Tuesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.
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Tennessee State House Representative G.A. Hardaway (D-Knoxville) objected to signs urging lawmakers to stand against child rapists during a meeting of the House Criminal Justice Committee held just days prior to Haradaway’s defense of Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville), who refused to lead the legislative body in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition told The Tennessee Star that activists affiliated with the group were present at the Tennessee General Assembly last Monday, holding signs urging lawmakers, “Do not stand with child rapists,” following a subcommittee vote by Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) against HB 1663.
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Tennessee Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, filed a bill that would require all adult-oriented businesses to display human trafficking hotline information that would be overseen by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The democrat what the only vote against the anti-trafficking bill passed during the special session last fall.
“This isn’t a bad bill but we are very confused as to why Rep. Parkinson has decided to file a bill that addresses human trafficking, albeit in a miniscule manner, given that he was literally the only member of the State House to vote against our special session anti-trafficking bill that became law,” a statement from the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition board said.
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Tennessee State Senator Heidi Campbell encouraged her supporters to make political donations to her campaign in the name of “abortion rights” to celebrate Christmas, even declaring that a certificate explaining the donation would make a “great stocking stuffer.”
Campbell declared it “the season for saving abortion rights” in a post on X, formerly Twitter. She urged her supporters to donate a “gift” to her campaign “in honor of a loved one” for the “Holiday season.”
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Aaron Spradlin, who is the Chairman of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition and CEO of the Mission America Foundation, told The Star in a phone call that he’s known of suspected human trafficking activities happening at hotels where De Caldera operated since at least 2015.
Executive director Aaron Gulbransen, a former reporter for The Star, explained the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition previously informed state officials of suspected criminal activity at the hotels, and said the organization has been able to “amplify” Spradlin’s work by regularly sharing tips and insight with Tennessee lawmakers and law enforcement.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reported Friday the arrest of Yilibeth “Yibi” Rivero De Caldera in Murfreesboro, who they claim trafficked at least a dozen women from Central and South America to Tennessee, where she then forced them to perform “commercial sex acts” to repay their debt.
A press release reveals authorities allege “De Caldera provided financial assistance” for her “female Hispanic immigrants,” but after they arrived in Tennessee, they claim she “levied the victims with a large debt and forced them to engage in commercial sex acts at local hostels to pay back the debt.”
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Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) released a new Human Trafficking Statistical Report last week, revealing a sharp increase in human trafficking of minors in Tennessee in a five-year period.
The report, which was the first of its kind released in more than a decade, revealed there were 518 minor sex trafficking reports by November 5, and the agency notes that reports of minor sex trafficking “dramatically increased from 66 in 2016 to over 600 by 2021,” which is an increase of 809 percent. Similar numbers were reported in 2022 and 2023.
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Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services (DCS) is highlighting a new anti-human trafficking team, which was formed as part of the state’s ongoing effort to combat the practice.
“We’ve had over 500 reports since the beginning of the year,” Kate Greer, the Director of the Human Trafficking Response Team, which is part of DCS, reportedly said.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) released a statement on Friday condemning the rhetoric and actions of multiple left-wing groups in support of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
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Official guest host and executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition takes a moment to confront the false land ownership claims underpinning the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas an Tuesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.
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The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request from the plaintiffs in L.W. v. Skrmetti on Thursday to block a Tennessee law banning “gender-affirming care” on minors, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex-change surgeries.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) released a statement Wednesday condemning the Biden Administration’s redirection of Title X funding from the Volunteer State to Planned Parenthood.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) applauded Governor Bill Lee for signing an anti-human trafficking bill into law on Friday.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) released a statement commending the passage of a bill in the Tennessee House of Representatives which addresses child and human trafficking.
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During the special session of the Tennessee General Assembly Tuesday, the issue of human trafficking took center stage.
The Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday passed SB 7088, which as introduced would require the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) “to submit a report on child and human trafficking crimes and trends in this state, based upon data available to the bureau, as well as current programs and activities of the bureau’s human trafficking unit, to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the speaker of the senate by December 1, 2023, and by each December 1 thereafter.”
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) Board of Directors released a statement applauding a bill filed by Tennessee House Minority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) which addresses child and human trafficking.
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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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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition released a lengthy statement to The Tennessee Star Tuesday afternoon after a far-left gun control group directed its supporters to protest an event where the nonprofit’s Williamson County chapter will focus on eradicating human trafficking in the Volunteer State.
Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) and State Senator Jack Johnson (pictured above, left) (R-District 27) will attend.
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Governor Bill Lee has issued a proclamation calling for a special legislative session to take up gun-control measures, including a controversial “red flag” bill that many of his GOP allies in the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly say is a non-starter.
The long-expected proclamation was apparently leaked to the liberal Tennessee Lookout late Thursday afternoon before it’s official release.
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Executive Director of Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition Aaron Gulbransen shares his insights about who is empowering the modern slave trade right here in Nashville and how the people of Tennessee can confront and defeat this ancient and evil practice on Tuesday’s cant-miss episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.
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Executive Director of Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition Aaron Gulbransen puts listeners in the room with him during his recent meeting with Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.
Gulbransen shares insider details, the points of agreement, and confirms that the Governor intends to call for a special session in August as he originally said – despite the many threats of unrest the Left have vowed to deliver.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) Board of Directors met with Governor Bill Lee on Monday and discussed multiple issues facing the Volunteer State, including the upcoming special legislative session next month.
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The Tennessee Faith & Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) released a statement Saturday responding to a piece published by Rolling Stone magazine reviewing the newly-released movie Sound of Freedom.
The magazine’s piece, titled, “‘Sound Of Freedom’ Is a Superhero Movie for Dads With Brainworms,” describes the film as a “QAnon-tinged thriller about child-trafficking..designed to appeal to the conscience of a conspiracy-addled boomer.”
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) recently awarded Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti one of its Defender of Freedom awards.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) held its first annual TNFFC Legislative Awards Ceremony this week and distributed five Defender of Freedom awards and two Conservative Champion awards.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Aaron Gulbransen in studio to describe the mission of the Faith and Freedom Coalition locally and nationally.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Director of Tennessee’s Faith and Freedom Coalition, Aaron Gulbransen in studio to talk about the group’s 2023 agenda.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the director of Tennessee’s Faith and Freedom Coalition Aaron Gulbransen in studio to discuss his mission continue the fight against human trafficking and urge TBI for yearly reports.
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A bill introduced in the Tennessee House of Representatives would allow doctors to be held liable in civil court for completing transgender surgeries on minors.
“The legislature determines that medical procedures that alter a minor’s hormonal balance, remove a minor’s sex organs, or otherwise change a minor’s physical appearance are harmful to a minor when these medical procedures are performed for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex or treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor’s sex and asserted identity,” says House Bill 1, introduced by Rep. William Lamberth (R-District 44).
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host and lead political reporter for The Tennessee Star Aaron Gulbransen in-studio to announce his new career move as executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition.
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