HB2619 has been calendared for review on Wednesday, March 14 by the General Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. This is a good step forward in that the bill is back on the calendar for the subcommittee.  But all indications are that there are amendments coming, so we need to be especially watchful of any modifications they may try to make the bill.

This past week, one of TN-TAC’s Facebook members posted a response he received from Speaker Harwell that seems to indicate amendments are forthcoming.

Thank you for your email regarding House Bill 2619. At present, the bill is in the Judiciary Subcommittee. I have spoken to the sponsor of the legislation, and he is working diligently on the bill to find language that will give the state standing when the federal government overreaches its authority when dealing with Tennessee citizens.

I know this issue is important to many Tennesseans, and I am a strong supporter of the 10th Amendment. The federal government often oversteps its bounds and we must be vigilant to ensure our rights as a state and our principles as Tennesseans are protected.

I will continue discussions with the sponsor of the legislation, and I am supportive of his efforts. Again, thank you for your thoughts on this issue, and please do not hesitate to contact me if I can ever be of service to you in the future.

Thank you,

Speaker Beth Harwell

So far, no amendments to the bill have been posted on the Tennessee General Assembly’s web site.  This is still not a good sign.  In an e-mail sent to Tennessee Firearms Association members regarding the Employee Safe Commute Bill currently pending in the House, the TFA stated:

We are told that this bill is subject to amendment and, in the nature of Pelosi, the House Leadership does not want to share the proposed amendment so that the citizens can read it before its introduced.

If the House leadership under Speaker Harwell’s leadership is willing to play these kinds of games with one bill, they may well be attempting  do the same with our HB2619.

We have to keep up the pressure on the members of the subcommittee and our legislators to pass this bill without weakening it in any way.

Action Items:

1.  Contact the members of the subcommittee and demand that they pass HB2619/SB2669 without weakening it in any way.  Be polite but firm and let them know that if they do not pass this bill, you will work hard to make sure that they are not in office in 2013.  Keep in mind that we are getting opposition from legislators in both political parties.

General Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee

Rep. Jim Coley, Chair: Republican, District 97
207 WMB, (615) 741-8201, rep.jim.coley@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Vance Dennis, Vice-Chair: Republican, District 71
105 WMB, (615) 741-2190, rep.vance.dennis@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Eddie Bass: Democrat, District 65
109 WMB, (615) 741-1864, rep.eddie.bass@capitol.tn.gov
(Note that Rep. Bass is a retired county sheriff himself, and has sponsored his own version of a sheriffs first bill in the past.)

Rep. Karen D. Camper: Democrat, District 87
20 LP, (615) 741-1898, rep.karen.camper@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Jon C. Lundberg: Republican, District 1
205 WMB, (615) 741-7623, rep.jon.lundberg@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Judd Matheny: Republican, District 47
205 WMB, (615) 741-7448, rep.judd.matheny@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Barrett Rich: Republican, District 94
204 WMB, (615) 741-6890, rep.barrett.rich@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Janis Baird Sontany: Democrat, District 53
32 LP, (615) 741-6861, rep.janis.sontany@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Eric Watson: Republican, District 22
209A WMB, (615) 741-7799, rep.eric.watson@capitol.tn.gov

2.  If you can attend the subcommittee meeting on Wednesday, March 14 at 3:30 PM Central, please be in Nashville to attend.  The schedules are listed here.

3.  Contact Rep. Dunn and Sen. Campfield to thank them for sponsoring HB2619/SB2669.  Assure them that you want them to continue the fight for the rights of Tennesseans.

Rep. Bill Dunn: Republican, District 16
212 WMB, (615) 741-1721, rep.bill.dunn@capitol.tn.gov

Sen. Stacey Campfield: Republican, District 7
306 WMB, (615) 741-1766, sen.stacey.campfield@capitol.tn.gov

4.  Contact your personal state representative and senator and encourage them to co-sponsor and support HB2619/SB2669.  Let them know that if they do not support it, you will work hard to make sure they are not in office in 2013.  Remember to be polite, but firm.  You can find your the legislators for your district by clicking here and entering your street address on the left side of the screen.

5.  Contact Speaker Beth Harwell and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and let them know you support HB2619/SB2669 and ask them to co-sponsor it.

Speaker Beth Harwell: Republican, District 56
107 WMB, (615) 741-0709, speaker.beth.harwell@capitol.tn.gov

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey: Republican, District 2
1 LP, (615) 741-4524, lt.gov.ron.ramsey@capitol.tn.gov

6. Send a link to this article to everyone you know and encourage them to call and e-mail these legislators.

7. Please consider running against any legislators in your district who do not support this bill.  The deadline to file to run this year is April 5th. We need people with courage and principles to stand up against legislators who lack the moral courage to do the right thing.

Lesley Swann

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