East Tennessee Maverick: GOP supermajority opens fresh attacks on liberty

WALKER KINSLER Columnist

Tennessee’s state legislature, the General Assembly, began its 2023 session on Jan. 10 and wasted no time proposing controversial bills.

Both chambers are controlled by a Republican supermajority, 27-6 in the Senate and 7523 in the House. As a result, there are few safeguards to far-right legislation, as seen with the 2019 law banning abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest or saving the life of the mother that came into effect this summer following the fall of Roe.

Democratic legislators have proposed a bill this session, HB10, to add medical exceptions to allow for potentially life-saving abortion. GOP lawmakers have suggested that they will sponsor their own bill, as they apparently can’t show a hint of bipartisanship on abortion to totalitarian organizations such as Tennessee Right to Life.

Right to Life demands that no medical exceptions be added to the law, even in the case of rape, incest or saving the mother’s life. They say the law’s defense for doctors who perform abortion, first getting charged with a felony and then having to defend themselves, is enough leeway. Gov. Bill Lee and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally agree. How repulsive an organization must be to deny basic healthcare and human rights, along with the bare minimum of exceptions, and then celebrate the prosecution of life-saving doctors.

The first bill proposed this year in both houses, the GOP sponsored HB1 and SB1, bans the altering of hormones or performing surgeries “for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex.” This bill takes the delicate decision of trans healthcare out of the hands of patients and families. The conservative General Assembly will choose for them. With trans youth already going through monumental hardships, there may be one more massive burden thrown upon them.

Another early bill by the GOP, SB3, would ban drag shows “on public property or in a location where it could be viewed by a person who is not an adult.” The stipulation that a child might see it is a common conservative argument and is so vague that it’s ripe for abuse. For example, a bar in downtown Morristown drew protests from church members over the summer for having a drag show. They claimed a child could walk by the tinted windows and closed doors and accidentally see it. Thus with this law, any show, even on private property, could be cracked down on by the local or state government. This is a major attack on the freedom of expression by the party of “small government.”

Perhaps an even larger attack on local autonomy by the party of “small government” is the GOP-sponsored HB48 and SB87 that cuts Nashville’s Metro Council in half from 40 elected members to 20. Republicans have not tried to hide that the bill is revenge for Nashville blocking the 2024 RNC bid. They have shown that they do not care for the city’s liberty, as when they carved it up into three congressional districts last year to strip them of their right to elect their own representative. It is overreach after overreach.

The conservative Tennessee Supreme Court has shown its willingness to bless GOP bills with constitutionality that target specific counties as with the earlier school voucher program. GOP lawmakers didn’t think their constituents would like the program in their districts, so they targeted it only at the Democratic counties of Davidson and Shelby. These two counties do not want the introduction of school vouchers either, but the GOP doesn’t care. It is sickening to know that Republicans in our General Assembly will attack certain members of its population because they belong to another party.

While there are sure to be positive bills that come out of the 113th General Assembly, state Republicans have proven they are more than willing to abuse their power. They crack down on freedom of expression, endanger patient health and attack the self-determination of metro governments. The average Tennessean is likely unaware of many of these bills, which means it is our responsibility, our duty, to stay informed on proposed legislation and speak out against injustice and tyranny.

The Tennessee State Capitol. Robert Schnaible / The Daily Beacon

Walker Kinsler is a sophomore at UT this year studying political science. He can be reached at wkinsler@vols.utk. edu.

Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.