The Tennessee Faith & Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) called on Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) Monday to cancel his proposed August 21 special session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
“We are writing you because you have made it clear that you are planning to use your authority to officially call an ill-advised special session of the Tennessee General Assembly on August 21st to address gun issues in the aftermath of the Covenant School shooting tragedy, a heinous and despicable act committed by a mentally ill individual who claimed to be on the transgender spectrum,” the TNFFC said in a letter sent to the governor. A copy of the letter was also sent to all members of the Tennessee General Assembly.
“In the interest of public safety, the safety of downtown Nashville, the safety of those brave men and women charged with maintaining order at the Capitol, the safety of legislators, staff, interns, and visitors, and in defense of the Constitution – we, the Board of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, plainly and emphatically oppose the calling of a special session of the General Assembly on this issue and are prayerfully writing to strongly urge that you reverse course on your plan, not call a special session, and wait until normal session in January to make proposals for the legislature to consider – as is the normal process of government,” the letter continued.
The letter pointed to credible evidence that far left activists – many from out-of-state – intend to disrupt the planned August 21 special session and may pose a significant threat to the safety of legislators and the public in general at the Capitol in Nashville.
“[T]hat heinous act of the murder [at Covenant School on March 27] of six individuals has been politicized by far Left activists and anti-Second Amendment groups funded by Leftist interests, the Biden Administration, Marxist agitators in the General Assembly who nearly started a riot over legislatures lack of desire to take away our Second Amendment constitutional rights – namely Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson, and others who wish to make every inroad they can in order to fulfil their ultimate goal of eliminating the constitutional protections that exist in the Second Amendment,” the letter noted.
An attachment to the two page letter added specifics:
In mid-May of this year, the content of a Marxist agitator meeting was obtained by The Tennessee Star and other news outlets.
Comments like the following one made by Julie Edwards, the Advocacy & Organizing manager for Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi pervaded the meeting:
“Keep in mind, the special session is August 21st, so everything we learn here today is to be applied towards the special session,” she said. “So, we are investing in y’all as activists, with the promise that y’all will show up when we need you to show up. Including August, but also I know some of y’all aren’t from Nashville so we’re trusting y’all to go back in your communities, share this information and ___ it up when it needs to happen.”
Another comment about the meeting was:
“So this is like very much an intro into protest safety and what to do – how to come up with a plan if you are gonna plan an action,” the organizer said. “But a big part of doing protest safety is knowing where you are best suited for. If you are best suited for logistics, you’re not best suited to be a safety captain that day. If you are somebody who shows up armed and you have that training, you are best suited to be off the safety roster that day.”
That is but a sampling of the proof that Marxists are planning on flooding Nashville and the capacity for violence is high. The Tennessee Highway Patrol and downtown Nashville experienced what the Left is capable of in the late-spring/early-summer of 2020.
Security expert and TN FFC Board Chair Aaron Spradlin, who was recognized by the Tennessee General Assembly for his work protecting members of that body, predicts massive protests and nefarious actions by the Marxist anti-constitutional activists.
Spradlin states, “This situation is a powder keg. The capacity for violence, agitation, and danger for the members of the General Assembly, their staff, law enforcement, and the citizens of Tennessee is nearly limitless. This could conceivably dwarf what happened in 2020.”
The letter was sent on behalf of all of the board members of TNFFC, which includes Executive Director Aaron Gulbransen, who worked previously as a reporter for The Tennessee Star.
The TNFFC also created a petition for those who agree with the organization’s call to cancel the special session.
Read the letter here:
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Michael Patrick Leahy is the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Bill Lee” by Gov. Bill Lee.
We have put ourselves in an awful position. In order to keep the “peace”, we are willing to sacrifice our right to assemble lawfully and conduct the people’s business??. How about we arrest and vigorously prosecute a few, or even more than a few, of those who would deny the people the right to discuss and address their grievances in a lawful setting. There are peaceful, means to object and/or protest. If they choose to behave like undisciplined, lawless savages, treat them accordingly. If they pose a credible threat of physical violence, bring the law to them. Personally, I am a little tired of turning the other cheek and would rather slap one. There are barbarians on both sides of the gate. Be careful what you wish for.
The solution to security is simple: call in a company of Tennesee Army National Guard Infantry, issue them live ammunition, give them shoot to kill orders if it is necessary to keep this filth from interfering and execute that order if they attempt to storm the Capitol as they did previously.