Nashville, Tenn. (TN Tribune)-In a move that has stirred uproar, Tennessee House Republicans successfully passed legislation on Tuesday that will permit certain trained teachers and school staff to carry handguns on campus. The decision came despite strong opposition from Democrats, students, and gun-reform advocates who had urged for the bill’s defeat. The atmosphere inside the state capitol became heated as the legislation passed with a 68-28 vote. Dozens of protestors, stationed in the galleries, erupted in chants of “Blood on your hands,” directed at the lawmakers who supported the bill ..read more

NASHVILLE, TENN. (TN Tribune) — The Tennessee General Assembly yesterday approved critical additional funding for court-appointed attorneys representing the indigent in state courts. The funds, $8.6 million in additional recurring funding, were included in the FY 2024-2025 budget, and will provide a $10 increase in the hourly reimbursement rate of compensation, along with a proportionate increase in the current cap on the total amount a court-appointed attorney may earn per case, marking the first time this rate has been increased since 1997. The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) applauds the T ..read more

By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Governor Bill Lee signed HB2169/ SB1738 into law earlier this week, introduced by Representative Mary Littleton in the State House and Senator Paul Rose in the Senate. Civil Rights groups such as the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) have criticized the bill as a threat to the civil rights of trans foster children as it would prohibit “the Department of Children’s Services from requiring an adoptive or foster parent to support a policy on sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the parent’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.” TEP Poli ..read more

National-Donald Trump’s statements on abortion have been all over the place this week as he and his campaign scrambled to respond to the consequences of Trump overturning Roe v. Wade and ripping away women’s freedoms. Today, Trump will host and campaign alongside anti-abortion and anti-IVF extremist Mike Johnson. Johnson and Trump are making it clear to anyone watching: a MAGA-controlled White House and Congress would be the end of women’s right to choose. Just look at their records: -Nominated three SCOTUS justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, unleashing extreme abortion bans ..read more

By Curtis Bunn WASHINGTON, DC — Wayne L. Smith, an engineer in the Washington, D.C., area, scoffed at an image he saw  recently of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gleefully nestled among a group of smiling Black people. Seeing the image immediately alarmed him.  “Everything he does to try to get Black people to like him is fake,” Smith said. “Why wouldn’t that photo be fake, too? It just didn’t feel right.” Smith’s instinct about the photo was correct; it was created by Trump supporter and conservative radio host Mark Kaye, who admitted he used artificial intelligence ..read more

Nashville, TN (TN Tribune)-District 58 Rep. Harold Love, Jr. convened a press conference at the state capitol calling for the filing of federal lawsuits to address the $2.1 billion a 2023 federal government report states is owed to Tennessee State University (TSU) due to decades of underfunding by the State of Tennessee in violation of federal Land Grant laws. In contrast, TSU’s sister Land Grant college the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, has always received its full allocation. Love’s response was spurred by the General Assembly’s 66-25 vote to remove and replace TSU’s board of trustees ..read more

Columbia, TN: Democratic challengers have qualified for the ballot in all of Maury County’s state legislative races this year. The following candidates qualified for the August 1 Democratic Party primary: House District 64 (currently held by Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka)): Alex Pierce of Columbia. Eileen Wilson-Longstreet of Spring Hill. House District 71 (currently held by Rep. Kip Capley (R-Summertown)): Tim Coy of Clifton, Wayne County. Senate District 28 (currently held by Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald): James Dallas of Columbia. Greg Hanners of Columbia will also appear on the Au ..read more

NASHVILLE—The Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus is renewing his call for State Comptroller Justin Mumpower to audit Governor Bill Lee’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. This is the third such request by Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons to Comptroller Mumpower in nine months. The initial request was made last August and renewed in September following news reports in The Tennessean involving the office’s budget. Last year, Lee appropriated $1.2 million dollars of taxpayer money to the office. These funds are exclusively controlled and spent by the governor’s han ..read more

By Amber Sherman, TN Regional Organizer, Black Voters Matter As an organizer and activist in the state of Tennessee, I am painfully aware of the oppressive tactics used by the majority party in the Tennessee General Assembly to deny progress in Black communities. In recent months, the Republican-led legislature launched a baseless attack on the only public HBCU in the state, resulting in huge gaps in the university’s institutional knowledge and severe financial deficits. In a recent press conference, student organizers, alumni, and local and national leaders came together to demand that Tenne ..read more

By CNN WASHINTON, DC — The US House Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) will be dissolved as part of the government spending bill that passed Friday, the office’s director said in a statement. Sesha Joi Moon said in her statement to CNN that her department will be replaced by the Office of Talent Management under the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will close effective Monday March 25, Moon said. The change comes as DEI programs and initiatives across the country are facing increasing attacks from critics and Republican lawmakers. The offi ..read more