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February 28, 2018
Speaker Beth Harwell can vote to move legislation forward in her committees, so why is she "MIA" on 2nd Amendment legislation?
On February 27, Speaker Beth Harwell, who thinks she should be Tennessee's next governor, voted to move the controversial “Medical Cannabis Act” (HB1749) out of the Criminal Justice Subcommittee. The bill would have died in the committee on a 3-3 vote, but Harwell, who is not on that committee, came in to exercise her right under the "House Rules" as "Speaker" to vote in any committee or subcommittee whenever she wants to do so. According to various news reports, Harwell justified her actions by stating that she thought the bill was one that needed to be discussed in more depth.
TFA has not taken a position on this bill at all other than to raise the question with the House sponsor, Rep. Jeremy Faison, of how will its passage impact individual gun owners or handgun permit holders if they exercise the capacity to obtain "medical cannabis".
What this story does raise for gun owners and constitutionalists is the question of why has Beth Harwell failed for the last 8 years to vote in any of these subcommittees or full committees on legislation that was filed to remove infringements on constitutionally protected rights? To our recollection, in the last 8 years Speaker Harwell has not once voted under similar circumstances to move a bill forward on 2nd Amendment issues claiming it was important and needed more discussion.
We are unable to identify over the last 8 years a single bill on 2nd Amendment issues where the Speaker herself, a self-proclaimed 2nd Amendment supporter, went in and voted to make sure that the bill moved forward.
We are unable to identify over the last 8 years a single incidence in which the Speaker encouraged the use of a "recall motion" to put such a bill on the full House floor so that all 99 House members could debate and consider such legislation.
Now that we know that Speaker Harwell understands this rule and her unique authority that other legislators do not likewise hold, the question is why has the failed or refused opportunities to move pro 2nd Amendment legislation to the floor for a full debate and vote for a period of 8 long years.
Call or contact Speaker Beth Harwell and ask her. If you get an answer, let us know.
Beth Harwell
(615) 741-0709
speaker.beth.harwell@capitol.tn.gov
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Yours
John Harris
Executive Director
Tennessee Firearms Association
P.S. If you want to wage in on the battle to elect someone to the State Senate and the State House in 2018 - candidates who put the constitution first and who are true public stewards of your rights, please take a moment and go to the TFA's PAC website and make a donation so that we can raise the funds to restore our rights.
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