On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump became the nation’s 47th President.
He campaigned the last four years on the promises that he was making
to the American voters. On January 20 the world watched as Trump
immediately set about to keep many of those promises. Promises made,
promises kept – as evidenced by his actions before he went to sleep on
his first day back in office.
Time will tell whether and to what extent his promises are kept but
he came to the office ready to demonstrate that he has not forgotten the
promises that he made to voters. Indeed, a significant number of his
promises will depend on whether Congress listened to the voters.
On the issue of ‘promises made, promises kept,’ contrast Trump’s
actions on January 20 with those of the Republicans, or those who
identify as Republicans, that have been elected in Tennessee over the
last 16 years. The contrast is stunning.
Tennessee Firearms Association has been in existence for three
decades. It came into existence when the state was controlled by
Democrats. The Republican members of the Legislature during that time
continuously assured TFA and the public that their party was a strong
supporter of the Second Amendment. The promised – during election
cycles – that if Tennessee’s voters gave them control of the Legislature
and the office of Governor, that they would fully restore the rights of
the people that are protected by the Second Amendment.
When Bill Haslam ran for governor in 2009, he assured
TFA members in a meeting in Hermitage Tennessee that he supported
“constitutional carry”. Obviously, he did not. In his 8 years in
office, he managed to repeatedly break that promise.
Then comes Bill Lee. On the Second Amendment, he is probably as bad
or worse than Haslam. Yet, Lee also made promises to the voters on what
he would do if elected. Lee published on his campaign website his “Ten for Tennessee”
promises – those promises, by the way, were soon removed by Lee but
they were preserved by the Tennessee Star’s report. Soon after his
election, the Tennessee Star and others questioned whether Lee had already broken those promises.
Bill Lee specifically addressed a letter
to the Tennessee Firearms Association in May 2018 in which he made
specific written promises. He promised that he would “sign into
legislation” changes that would i) provide for “Constitutional carry”,
ii) defend the “right” to be armed on public property, iii) prohibit the
use of taxpayer funds to infringe the “rights guaranteed by the
constitution”, iv) allow Tennesseans to lawfully carry on college
campuses, and v) allow educators the “right to carry lawfully possessed
firearms in the workplace.” Not only did Bill Lee not do any of these
immediately upon becoming governor, the evidence is clear six years into
his tenure that he has not kept these promises.
But let’s not forget the promises of those who identify as
“Republicans” that are or have served in the Tennessee Legislature since
2010. A Republican super majority in the Legislature has totally
controlled the public policy of the state since 2010. As early as 2010,
the Republican super majority could have fulfilled the innumerable
campaign promises to fully support and restore the Second Amendment.
But they have not. ‘Promises made’ – yes. ‘Promises kept’ – nope.
With Trump’s example we know that elected officials can at least try
to keep their promises. Many may feel that he is doing just that to the
extent promise keeping is solely in his power. But what about Haslam,
Lee, and the Republican super majority in the Legislature? Have they
kept their promises on the Second Amendment?
Are Tennessee’s voters going to demand that they keep their promises?
Or is it the fact that Tennessee’s voters have made those demands, but
those who control the office of governor and those in Republican
leadership in the Tennessee Legislature are suffering from self-induced
“promise amnesia” – a condition that curiously manifests right after
taking the oath of office and persists until its time to campaign again.
If you want more accountability from Bill Lee, forget it – he is a
lame duck that has tried to force a Red Flag law on Tennesseans. He has
had his taxpayer-salaried minions in the Tennessee Legislature fighting
regularly through Elizabeth Stroeker and representatives from the
Department of Safety and TBI to oppose and fringe out rights
particularly in committee testimony – example 1, example 2, and example 3. Indeed, in statements in 20221 by former Senate Judiciary Chair Mike Bell
discussing a permitless carry law (that Bell conceded was not
constitutional carry), he called out Tennessee’s administration and tax
payer funded law enforcement for constantly fighting against the Second
Amendment dating back even to the original enactment of Tennessee’s
permit system.
If you want accountability from the Republican controlled
Legislature, that might be attainable but they will need to hear from
each of you in a loud, persistent and clear demand. Your demands will
need to be sufficient to communicate to those legislators what your
expectations are and, if they are not met, that you will find someone
else to support in the next election. Your demands will need to be loud
enough to overcome the suppression and opposition that originates from
the Mount Olympus of Republican leadership in the Legislature.
With a 16 year history, it is abundantly clear that there are too
many Republican legislators who oppose the full exercise of your Second
Amendment rights (just as Senator Bell indicated was the history of the
administration and the state’s law enforcement). Were it not the case,
these Republican legislative leaders, operating with the “promise
keeping” determination of Donald Trump, had the power to repeal these
laws and infringements years ago. |
