Worriedman

We will hold our March Stated Meeting Thursday the 8th, at the Old Country Store, located in the Casey Jones Village, Jackson, TN. Our room will be available for those who wish to share a meal and fellowship at 5:30 P.M. The Meeting Proper will begin at 7:00 P.M. after a brief report about current Legislation. Our featured Speaker will be Mark Patey, candidate for Circuit Court Judge of the 26th Judicial District, Division III, which is comprised of Madison, Henderson and Chester Counties. Mark will open with comments, and we will have our normal Q/A session following. Membership is NOT a requirement to attend, all are welcome to join us for this informative evening.

The biggest issue right now is the sub-committee of the House, Employee and Consumer Affairs. It was place there by Leadership to kill it. 4 Republicans, 3 Democrats make up this sub, and we are in danger of it never making it to the floor. Currently, of the members, we have commitments from Eldridge and Casada. I have heard that Moore will vote yes, but the Chairman, rep. Mark White has yet to sign on. He has said he has heard very little support from his district, (83, which includes the location of a lot of Fed Ex in Memphis). We need his constituents to contact him with polite request to co-sponsor and support this bill. They just put up the list of co-sponsors from the House: Evans, Eldridge, Faison, Weaver, Matheny, Pody, Wirgau, Tidwell, Holt, Floyd, Shipley, Ragan, Campbell, Butt, Keisling, Windle, Halford, Hill, Sanderson, Casada, Parkinson, Swann, Lollar, Alexander, Hall, Gotto, Ford , Forgety, Rich. It is a fair start, but we need more.

Thank you for the kind words. According to Faramir "The praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards. Yet there was nought in this to praise. I had no lure or desire to do other than I have done." I am just glad that any of those who desire to see this bill given an even shake was offered the opportunity to speak in its support. I am sure there are others who could have done it more justice, but it was my turn, and I did the best I could. The real test will be in the House Employee and Consumer Affairs sub-committee, I will be better prepared for that one.

If you watch the Judiciary Committee session of today, Campfield comes off as less than supportive. He grilled me pretty hard on the "Private Property" aspect. First time in front of a full committee, maybe I will do better next time, there were some nerves going on.

I was informed to day that the TCC referenced in the e-mail "Alert" is NOT the Tennessee Council of Cooperatives, it is in fact the Tennessee Construction Coalition. I regret the error.

From the letter to the membership: The question I am having those with a pro 2nd Amendment stance in the membership ask today is, what segment of the administration of the Association is NOT in favor of the "right for everyone to be able to have firearms"??

From the "Alert" I would hazard a guess, (knowing that it is just that, a guess) that many construction personnel are members of the NRA, and more closely relate to the liberties and Rights espoused by that organization than to some liberal, firearm hating perspective. I intend to contact the many firms I work with on a daily basis that pay into the ABC and seek to have them ask why we were not polled about our response to the issue rather than have an apparent "take" personified by the organization.

It was sent out by the Senior Policy Advisor of the ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors), http://www.abc.org/ and TCC is Tennessee Construction Coalition. ABC is supposed to be the home of Merit Shop Contractors. TCC includes Farm Bureau and such. Point being that the other side is pressing every entity they can to generate opposition.

TO: ABC Members and TCC Members RE: Guns in Business Parking Lots – ALERT!!! (SB3002/HB2560) (SB2992/HB3559) The hottest issue at the State Capitol is “guns in parking lots legislationâ€. While most of us support the right for everyone to be able to have firearms theses bill go too far. These proposals are supported by The Tennessee Firearms Association and the National Rifle Association. These bills not only deal with guns but would significantly impact Tennessee’s employment law and could become a costly legal nightmare for employers. These bills override business property rights by prohibiting employers, currently your choice, from denying employees and visitors from having guns in employer’s parking lots. We believe these proposals should be opposed for the following reasons: ·This legislation eliminates constitutionally protected private property rights. ·Employers have an obligation to maintain a safe working environment and are liable for unintended acts that occur on their property. ·Workplace violence is a real threat, and businesses must do everything reasonable to deter violence in the workplace. ·Allowing weapons to be stored in locked cars creates a security burden for employers. Firearms are an attractive item for thieves to steal, especially if they are stored in cars. ·The bill is not restricted to handgun owners with legal carry permits but appears to authorize a much broader group of gun owners to keep a wide variety of legal weapons in the cars on all privately owned or public property. ·The bill eliminates current restriction against guns in public parking places such as those at parks, in government buildings, in school parking lots and on college campuses. ·The bill does not make allowance for employers to be able to post a “no-gun†policy on private property where cars are parked. ·The bill does not recognize federal regulations or requirements affecting airports and other employers with special security concerns or requirements. We urge you to contact your legislators by phone or e-mail and express your opposition as soon as possible. Be sure to e-mail House Speaker Beth Harwell and Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey. Also, Governor Bill Haslam who’s e-mail is bill.haslam@tn.gov Here is how you get e-mail addresses and phone numbers: www.capitol.tn.gov main page/ click on Legislators/ click on Senate members or House members and this will give you an alphabetical list of Names/phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

Any of the members from the Clarksville area know about Nick Steward? He appears to be of a Conservative bent, and professes to have worked to get the ban on carry in parks removed in Clarksville.

X2

Sky King and I spent Tuesday visiting with members of the House relative to the issue. What we heard time and again is the fact that the Representatives are hearing very little from the constituents, and are being inundated by the paid lobbyist from the Chamber of Commerce and Federal Express. Of significance was the additional claim that the NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) was in opposition to the bill as well, but one of the activist who made the trip with us is a Board member of that organization, and as such was able to contact their lobbyist who made sure to contact the Committee chairs involved and redress that misconception, stating in fact, that the association was NOT in opposition. Not that the Leadership would trot out an untruth in support of their position mind you, but, having the facts in play tend to take that arrow out of their quiver. The issue is ours to win or lose now, contacting your Representatives with a respectful entreaty to seek their support for the legislation is very important.

Dunn has taken the bill off notice, and as the Sheriff's Association has not endorsed it, it is essentially dead. I never expected them to support this Bill, moves them out of their comfort zone and required them to take a stand. Essentially the bill passed that requires Post certification to run eliminates the office from being a political position, and makes it virtually impossible to defeat an incumbent if they are not ready to step down. The only people that can run are deputies who will be relegated to the midnight shift at the jail if they throw their hats into the ring.

In the Bill:

What we are allowing with the current situation is the employer to extend his "Property Rights" from his parking lot to my front door. Inside my personal vehicle, I consider anything legal to have there to be my business, and not theirs. If the employer or corporation is willing to assume liability for the safety and security of the individual door to door, (we know the Government through Law Enforcement is not responsible for that production) then we do not have a problem, let them assume control and the associated liability.

This contact and agreement to support is vital to the effort. Rep. Moore is a member of the subcommittee that will decide if the bill moves in the House. So far we have commitments from Rep.s Eldridge and Casada, Chairman Mark White could be the deciding vote, we need to contact him with reasoned, polite request to support this Bill.

Seems to me that there are Republicans in the Senate that are for the NRA sponsored bill, the push back against it comes from the House. The House sponsor Eddie Bass is one of the most Conservative of all the members in our Legislature, regardless of what letter is behind his name.

http://www.timesfree...awmakers/?local The People do not matter to these Politicians, it is the dollar for re-election that counts. From the Article: Federal Express spent more money to buy their mouthpieces than any other.

Then the ones that have no intent to follow the Constitution with respect to Firearms issues just need to say so, instead of giving lip service and then not honoring their statements.

Leader McCormick seems to singing off a different sheet of music than from earlier in the year when he trotted this statement out: “This Task Force will study ways we can protect the Second Amendment rights of Tennesseans and will make recommendations to our Majority about good public policy we all can support,†said Majority Leader Gerald McCormick said in a statement announcing the move. “I think this is a worthwhile effort to streamline the process and build consensus within the General Assembly.â€

McCormick's statement is one of the lamest things I have read in a while. They were all for bipartisanship in getting a few Democrats to sign on to their redistricting agenda, but now, they are the enemy again?

Contact her on this one and publish her answer.

Running Firefox, but spell check is not functioning for me since the change.

Where do I turn spell check on? I know a lot of words, but can't spell my hinney!