Banning Pride Flags / Police Doing their Jobs / Expelled Lawmakers & 4 more Big Tennessee Stories!
Tennessee House Passes Bill to Officially Ban Pride Flags in Public Schools Liberal News Outlets Claim Police Doing Their Jobs Hurts Public Safety House Bill Bars Local Councils from sending Expelled Lawmakers Back to the Capitol & 4 More Big Tennessee Stories on this week's episode of The Big 7!
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Adelia:
The Tennessee House of Representatives has officially passed a bill that would ban pride flags in public schools. Liberal news media outlets are claiming that a bill allowing law enforcement to act in their full legal capacity will undo strides in public safety. And the Tennessee house has also passed a bill to bar local councils from sending expelled lawmakers back to their seats of office. If y'all kept up with the legislature's drama last year, then you'll know what that one's in response to. But we're gonna get into all of that and more on today's big seven.
Adelia:
My name is Adelia Kirchner. I'm a writer for the Tennessee conservative. And this week, I'm filling in for Brandon while he attends a big industry conference for what I'm pretty sure he told you last week is his business that actually makes him money. His business that is not a donor run publication like we are here at the Tennessee conservative. But you guys, it's if you're missing Brandon's, southern twang right about now, don't worry because he he will be back next week.
Adelia:
He'll be back within next week to, bring you your state news. But for now, okay, I've got a couple things I need you to do. 1st, I need you to go and subscribe, if you haven't already, to our free daily enewsletter. Just text news to 423-205-5600. You can also follow us on the social media platforms that have not yet shadow banned us.
Adelia:
That includes x, formerly known as Twitter, Gab, Gitter, Truth, Rumble, and MiWi. We've got all the options for you guys. We've got all the options for you. So, go go follow us. Keep up with what's going on in our in our little, quaint little state here.
Adelia:
But, to get into our big seven news stories for the week, first up, we have media claims bill to combat driving equality act will undo strides in public safety. A bill that would allow Tennessee law enforcement to operate at their full legal capacity by prohibiting local government from putting limits on that capacity would render Memphis's Driving Equality Act null and void. House bill 1931 is sponsored by representative John Gillespie, and senate bill 2572 is sponsored by senate senator Brent Taylor. Both of the both of them are from Memphis. Back in April of 2023, the Memphis City Council unanimously passed an ordinance preventing pretextual traffic stops.
Adelia:
Known as the Driving Equality Act in honor of Tyre Nichols, this ordinance prohibits local police from making traffic stops for secondary violations, such as license plates not being secured to the appropriate location on a vehicle, but still clearly displayed, or single brake light, headlight, and running light outages. Memphis police are still able to conduct traffic stops that involve both a secondary violation and a primary violation, such as aggressive driving. Critics expressed concern that the ordinance blocks law enforcement from doing their jobs by prohibiting them from enforcing the law and operating at their full legal capacity. If passed in the state legislature, representative Gillespie and senator Taylor's new legislation would effectively undo this Memphis ordinance. Supporters of Memphis's driving equality act are naturally critics of the legislation with the Memphis flyer even going so far as to produce a headline reading, proposed legislation could undo strides in public safety in Memphis.
Adelia:
Now I don't know the exact context of what happened with this guy Nichols. I know it was back in 2023, back in January last year. And then that's when Memphis decided to, go forward with this ordinance. But my, I guess, my kind of perspective on it, not knowing the full details of the situation, is that there are humans, and there are relatively good humans who make bad decisions. There are there's no perfection in humanity whatsoever.
Adelia:
And, there's no perfection in humanity whatsoever. And, there are going to be people working jobs, including people working law enforcement jobs who probably shouldn't be doing that. They shouldn't be working those jobs because their intentions are not proper, I guess, we'll say. You know, there are people who go on power trips. There are people who do not act within their full legal capacity.
Adelia:
There are people who take advantage of other people not knowing the law. That that there's a lot of that. Right? But there's also a lot of good, in a good police officers with a lot of integrity who actually live up to their, commitment to protect and serve us here in Tennessee. That that's that's kinda my opinion.
Adelia:
There there's a lot of good ones, and, it's it's not really fair to kind of group everybody together because of a few bad actors. And obviously, the bad actors are what we hear the most about in a lot of cases because, that that's kind of how the news works. Right? You you hear a lot about the people who aren't doing the right thing or who, you know, are causing drama. You're not hearing about the peacekeepers.
Adelia:
Right? So, it's it's a little I I don't know the full details of this particular situation that led to this ordinance. I'm sure you can look it all up online and come to your own conclusions. But I it's reminiscent of, like, when you're a kid and an adult will, like, look at you and be like, well, if I let you do this thing or if I give you this special treat, then I have to do it for everybody. And it's like, no.
Adelia:
No. You don't. You really don't. There can be exceptions to the rule. And, I feel like in scenarios like this, the solution to bad actors is not to punish an entire group of people who haven't done the same thing, if that makes sense.
Adelia:
Like, hypothetically, okay, I I don't know for sure, but if if these police officers were in the wrong, right, then how does it make sense to publish the publish? How does it make sense to punish the entire Memphis police force by saying, hey. Now that your that now that these guys over here, they didn't do what they were supposed to do, none of you could ever even attempt to do what you're supposed to do or what you're technically allowed to do. So yeah. This bill would combat that ordinance.
Adelia:
So there's that. Next story. Tennessee private school handgun bill passes in the house. A Tennessee private school handgun bill passed on the house floor this week with a vote of 74 to 23. The vote was split along party lines with all Republicans voting yes and all Democrats in attendance voting against the bill.
Adelia:
Shocker. House bill 1631 sponsored by representative Gino Bolsow expands a state law that already allows k through 12 private schools to make handgun carry policies for their school. This bill grants permission for private schools that serve pre k through 12 to do the same. The corresponding senate bill 1708 sponsored by senator Joey Hensley was referred to the senate education committee on January second or January 22nd and has yet to be scheduled to be heard. I don't think this bill is that big of a deal.
Adelia:
I don't understand why there would be an argument against it. Obviously, the Democrats voted against this because they would be against what is already in current law. Like, it's already in state law that k through 12 private schools can make hand gun carry policies for their institutions, and I'm sure the Democrats aren't in favor of that either. So it is consistent to give them that, but I don't think it's that big of a stretch to be like, okay. Well, we're letting the k through 12 schools do it.
Adelia:
The pre k through 12 schools should be able to do it as well. Because if it is done properly, it is an extra added level of protection. So alright. Quick ad break from our sponsor. Okay, guys?
Adelia:
Be sure to check out Mill Creek View, Tennessee podcast on your favorite podcasting platform or watch it on Rumble. Our buddy Steve Abramovich recently interviewed Lori Cardoza Moore, an advocate for America's kids and special envoy to the UN for human rights and antisemitism on behalf of 44,000,000 Christians. He also interviewed Jeff Hughes, former police chief of Brentwood, who who is currently running for sheriff of Williamson County, and he interviewed John Miller, author and journalist. So go and check out Mill Creek View, Tennessee podcast today. Next story is bill requiring parental consent for minors on social media advances in the Tennessee House.
Adelia:
The Tennessee House Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee voted this week to pass legislation that would require social media platforms to use age verification on accounts and obtain parental consent for minors to use those platforms. House bill 1891 was introduced by coprime sponsor representative Jake MacAlmon during the subcommittee meeting. The bill referred to as the protecting children from social media act, I would say that's a pretty good name. That's a pretty good name right there, would also require social media companies to verify the expressed parental consent for the minor to become or continue as an account holder if someone under 18 wants to use the platform. McCalmon acknowledged that an amendment to the bill provided some clarifying language while also exempting commerce platforms such as eBay, Venmo, and PayPal from the requirements.
Adelia:
He also noted that there were 5 states that had passed similar legislation and that 4 of those states had been sued by social media companies for unnecessary burden. If the Tennessee legislation is passed, the body would leave it up to companies to decide how to implement the requirements much like Louisiana has already done. Louisiana is the only state that has not yet been sued. That's pretty impressive. Alright.
Adelia:
The bill passed by voice vote with eyes prevailing. No member asked to be recorded as voting against the bill. The bill has been placed on the house commerce committee's agenda for March 5th. So if if y'all have got an opinion on this bill, okay, contact the members of the house commerce committees, house commerce committee, okay, before their meeting on March 5th, and let them know if you want them to vote for or against this bill. You know, our our opinion is really important.
Adelia:
These things are crucial. I I like this bill because, see, I wasn't allowed to have social media. I I know I'm a I'm a youngster, you guys. Okay? But I wasn't allowed to have social media until I was, like, actually, like, I think, 14.
Adelia:
I think I maybe was allowed to have Facebook when I was 13 because my mom was on there, and so she could see everything I was doing. But, even then, I I I think that that was too young, Especially with everything that is on social media now and how how much people are willing to share of themselves on the Internet. Honestly, as an adult using social media sometimes, I'll be looking at what is what people are putting on these platforms, and I'm like, why? Why on earth would you put that on there knowing that, you know, your employers can see it, knowing that your parents can see it, knowing that, you know, children, small children are on here because there are there are 6 year olds scrolling through TikTok every day. It's insane.
Adelia:
But I'm just like the the amount of exposure, I'm like that that these kids are getting, on top of all the other issues of social media. Okay? The amount of exposure to things that they don't need to know or don't need to hear or don't need to understand yet. And, like, half the stuff that's on social media, I don't even need to know as an adult. I don't even need to understand as an adult.
Adelia:
It's completely unnecessary. So, yeah, I I I think this is good. I think, you know, there's there's a lot of kids. You know? You know, kids are sneaky.
Adelia:
Adult adults are sneaky. Humans are sneaky. And even if a parent is like, you can't have Instagram until you're, you know, 14 or 15, there are a lot of kids that will listen to that, and then there's a lot of kids that will still sign up anyways. So I think that having a a parental consent check on their little verification, would be a good idea. Now whether or not that verification is effective, depends on how they implement it.
Adelia:
I I don't know if this will will be effective or not. For some reason, I doubt it, but you never know. You never know. Maybe we'll see some some good come out of Louisiana. And, I guess if this bill passes, we'll see if Tennessee gets sued by all these social media companies.
Adelia:
Alright. Our next story is Tennessee house passes bill to ban pride flags in public schools. The Tennessee house passed a bill that would ban the display of pride flags and other ideological flags in Tennessee's public schools. House bill 1605 sponsored by representative Gino Bolsow seeks to prohibit all but the following, the United States flag, the official Tennessee state flag, a flag that cannot be disturbed or altered under Tennessee code, the, prisoner of war slash missing in action flag, a flag representing an Indian tribe, a flag representing a city, county, metropolitan government, or other political subdivision of the state of Tennessee, a flag representing a unit brand or other division of the armed forces, including ROTC programs, a flag representing a college or university, a flag displayed temporarily as part of a bonafide course curriculum, or an official school flag. Those are the flags that, are allowed to be displayed in public school classrooms under this legislation.
Adelia:
Also said during the presentation of the bill that, quote, when this build what this bill does is preserve tolerance across the board for all parents and all school children. The bill passed with a final count of 70 ayes, 24 nays, and one present not voting. Republican representative Mark White from Memphis chose not to vote, while Republican representative John Gillespie, also from Memphis, chose to vote against the bill. Interesting. Very interesting.
Adelia:
I think this bill is perfectly fine. I mean and, like, there there were I watched some of the testimonies in committees, in some of the house committees about this bill. And, I honestly think that, that some of the citizens who came up and spoke, they could have done a better job arguing their point because they kind of got up and, like, cried about it, and used the line of, you're killing children by taking these flags out of schools. You're killing children by not allowing pride flags in the classroom. And then they quoted, like, suicide statistics for LGBTQ plus youth, I think.
Adelia:
Like, if they even quoted them. I don't even think they referenced a specific study. They might have, though. Don't take my word for it. But I just kinda look at it.
Adelia:
I'm like, you know, there there's probably better arguments, against this bill than just, you're killing kids by passing this. The the yeah. No. Just just no. I know personally, I never went to public school, but I can pretty much guarantee you that as a Christian conservative, now I'm a bit more confident in my viewpoints.
Adelia:
I understand and have dug into more of why I think the way that I do and why I believe the way that I do. But, you know, as a middle schooler, as a high schooler, if I had been going to school and I had walked into a classroom and there were pride flags up everywhere or even if there was just one pride flag behind the teacher's desk, I would be a little, like, you know, am I am I allowed to express my views here? I'm like, I don't have a problem with somebody expressing their views, but that kind of tells me that they might have a problem with me expressing mine. And I know not everything's about me. And I understand that, you know, if there are LGBT youth, walking around in a school building, which there are probably in every single school building.
Adelia:
My you know, I know that they are a very vulnerable population. I don't entirely trust that they are confident in their decision. But I think the last thing that we need to be doing is, you know, solidifying that, in a space where it's supposed to be educational. I I I don't know. Especially especially since, you know, if you have a flag up, you have certain decorations up.
Adelia:
Okay. It's influencing more than just your specific demographic. It's influencing everybody in your classroom. It's not only telling LGBTQ plus students that they're safe. It's also, like, you know, telling everybody else in the classroom who might not have considered that before that this is okay with you as an adult.
Adelia:
Oh, well, you know, my parents might not be okay with this. My parents might believe otherwise. They might have good reasons for that. But, hey, my teacher over here, she's the intellectual, and she's supporting it. So I don't know.
Adelia:
There's just a lot wrapped up in all of it, and, I think that this is an interesting way to go about it all because I'm like, it it is specifically about flags. Not it it's not like it's about pens or coffee mugs, like one of the, citizens who came and testified said, or brought up, you know, like, are you gonna ban pens and certain coffee mugs and sort are you gonna ban other things that students wear, that teachers wear, that they own or whatever from being in the classroom. And it's like, oh, that is a good point. But the I think the thing about flags versus a lot of other things is, like, a flag inherently kind of, resembles, like, some sort of allegiance. You know, what what happens when you when you stand up and you oh, I don't know.
Adelia:
Say the pledge of allegiance to the United States flag. Like, you know, so you a flag resembles that you are in allegiance with what that flag is in support of. I guess what it boils down to for me, on this issue is that as a teacher, as a grown adult, okay, you can very easily make it very clear to your classroom, to your students, that you are not going to be, condemning them or, like, in you know, ridiculing them for their viewpoints, for what they believe, any of that stuff. You can make that very clear without picking one specific belief system and posting it up on the wall in the form of a flag. You can make it very clear that your classroom is safe for people to express their viewpoints, for people to express their personality, for people to express what they believe, you know, and that includes a belief that they are whatever they think they are.
Adelia:
That doesn't mean you have to necessarily endorse every single belief system that a student may ascribe to, but you can very easily, without posting a flag up on the wall, make it clear that you don't tolerate bullying. You don't tolerate people, you know, ridiculing each other for their belief systems. You can set a very good example without picking a specific ideology and bolstering that up and saying, well, I'm just trying to create a safe space. So that that's my conclusion on that one.
Brandon:
Alright, guys. Listen. We are the state's only conservative news alternative. We're the only one. And if you want us to continue to bring you the news, I kid you not.
Brandon:
These freaking articles that we write and the subjects we cover, ain't nobody else covering. It doesn't matter how big of a deal it is. The corporate media in Tennessee, which is about 96% Democrats, they ain't gonna cover this stuff. We're the lone voice of truth in the volunteer state. If you would go to tennesseeconservativenews.com and hit that support button, if you give any amount, we will send you this don't California, my Tennessee bumper sticker.
Brandon:
We'll also send you this stop feeding the RINOs bumper sticker, and we will send you this directory of all your recalcitrant GOP, state reps and state senators who refuse to do the will of the people. And if you get $50 or more, you will get this proud Tennessee conservative tumbler. It it is so good. It's just touching it. Just just touching it, or maybe even petting it will lower your blood pressure according to many studies that have yet to be conducted.
Brandon:
And also, you will notice inside here that you will find a koozie. Everybody needs a koozie. Hey, you put that thing in your back pocket, stick it in your purse. You're gonna need this thing to keep your beverages cold or hot. And, we promise that it can also be used if if you're out there and and and if the GOP decides to put billboards up again that say Face It masks work, you can wire this thing around on your face just in case Bill Lee makes you put one on.
Brandon:
Alright, guys. Let's move on. Let's move on to the next story here. Enough shenanigans.
Adelia:
Our next story is Tennessee house passes bill barring local councils from returning expelled lawmakers. This is the one I was talking about at the start of today's episode. Okay? Despite constitutional questions, house Republicans approved a measure on Monday that would stop expelled lawmakers from being reappointed to office. Lawmakers voted 69 to 22 in favor of house bill 2716, which would prohibit local legislative bodies from returning former members to office after expulsion.
Adelia:
Republican representative Johnny Garrett led the 2023 house hearing in which Republican lawmakers expelled Democrat representatives Justin j Pearson and Justin Jones for leading a gun violence protest on the floor of the house. Less than a week later, the Metro Nashville Council and Shelby County Commission voted to return Jones and Pearson to the legislature, and they won special elections over the summer. No legal challenges were made against their reappointment. And much to our enjoyment, we still have them speaking from the house floor. It's just so it's just so nice, guys.
Adelia:
Okay. Let's keep reading. The house state government committee's legal counsel previously advised the panel that the bill would be unconstitutional. He noted a constitutional amendment likely would be needed to change the provision that allows local governments to fill vacant seats. Guidelines for house members don't include expulsion as a disqualifier, and members can't be expelled twice for the same offense.
Adelia:
House speaker Cameron Sexton declined recently to say where he stands on passing measures that legislators have been advised may be unconstitutional. Sexton said, there's always people who question the constitutionality of stuff. We'll see. However, Sexton abstained from voting on the bill on Monday. Yeah.
Adelia:
I don't know how constitutional it is either, but there's gotta be something put in place. Right? Like, because it's insane. It's insane to be able to expel somebody from the house and, like and then they just can get sent right back. Like, what was the point?
Adelia:
And then they can't be expelled again for the same offense, so they can just commit the same offense. And it's like nothing ever happened except, oh, maybe there's a blemish of being expelled, which for the democrats, that's not a blemish. The their supporters are like, those darn Republicans, they expelled us. They don't they're just trying to shut us up. You know you know what I mean?
Adelia:
Like, the it's not like Justin Pearson and Justin Jones are looked at any differently by their supporters, obviously, because they just got sent right back. They just got reelected right back. So, I don't know how we can change this, and keep it in line with the constitution, but, something should be altered a little bit probably. Alright. Our our next story is Tennessee Toll Roads project set to begin with I 24 in Nashville.
Adelia:
Alright. All you Nashville Nashville Murfreesboro folk, this one directly impacts you and everybody in the state because, I think most people end up going to Nashville at least once a year. Right? Okay. So here we go.
Adelia:
As a result of governor Bill Lee's transportation modernization act, Tennessee's Department of Transportation has been approved to move forward with plans for toll roads in the state. During a February 26th meeting of the transportation modernization board, members unanimously voted to begin the state's toll road project with I 24 from Nashville to Murfreesboro. Supporters of bringing toll toll lanes to Tennessee have cited the major increase in population over the last several years, which has led to greater traffic on the roads. According to TDOT, over 600,000 people moved to Tennessee from out of state between 2010 and 2020. This is without taking into consideration the number of people who have fled to Tennessee from other states in the years since 2020, which we all know is a lot of people.
Adelia:
If you have driven in the Nashville area in the last few years, you have noticed that there is a lot more people. And it's not because people here are just popping out babies. Okay? There's a lot more adults that have moved here. Alright.
Adelia:
So this goes on to say that TDOT has also stated that the state's roadways are not prepared to withstand the use of this continually increasing population. However, Tennesseans will not be driving on toll roads anytime soon. The first phases of toll lane construction are not slated to begin until summer of 2026. For now, several studies will be conducted on the area of concern. They like to do that.
Adelia:
Studies are very big in this type of stuff. This includes feasibility studies and congestion studies. Once these studies conclude, TDOT will begin to review bids from private companies that the state could partner with to complete the project. Exact numbers for how much it will cost drivers to use these toll roads are not yet available. Some Democrats say lawmakers have been pushing for local governments to have a say in whether these choice lanes are implemented in their area of the state.
Adelia:
In response, governor Lee has argued that his administration is not creating dedicated toll roads that drivers are forced to use, but choice roads that drivers may choose to use at their discretion. Alright, y'all. It looks like we're on our last story of the day. This has flown by. This is some pretty interesting stuff.
Adelia:
I bet you agree with me. You agree with me. Right? Okay. So our last story of the day, governor Lee signs law protecting religious freedom for Tennessee's clergy.
Adelia:
Governor Bill Lee has signed a bill into law that provides protection of religious freedoms for Tennessee clergy members. The new law adds 10 words to the existing code and states that a person is not required to solemnize a marriage if the person objects based on religious beliefs or conscience. The legislation will actually extend to include both religious leaders and civil servants, who held objections to a marriage by providing them with the freedom to refuse to affirm the marriage. The new law will go into effect immediately. Tennessee Republicans have noted that the law will not keep couples from obtaining a marriage license, but simply allows those who object to solemnizing that marriage, to refuse it.
Adelia:
I don't see a problem with that. That sounds pretty darn good to me. But that's all I've got for today, y'all. Okay? If you like what we're doing and you want us to keep it up, please consider donating to support the cause.
Adelia:
All you have to do is go to tennesseeconservative news.com and hit that red support button. And, you know, since you'll already be on the website and everything, you should also subscribe to our free weekday newsletter by hitting the green subscribe button. That way, you get a nice little email every weekday that, fills you in on the news stories of the day, which around this time of year with our state's legislative session going on, tends to be some pretty interesting stuff if you ask me. So I don't think you wanna miss any of it. Also, don't forget to check out the Tennessee conservative podcast on your favorite platform and leave us a 5 star review.
Adelia:
It really, truly helps us out so so much, and all of us here at the Tennessee conservative would be, just eternally grateful to you for doing so. But as always, your listenership is appreciated. Your readership is appreciated, and we will be back next week with another big 7.
