SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Protesters are seen marching upon the Tennessee State Capitol building on June 04, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Tennessee GOP Targets Racial Justice Movement by Turning Encampment Protests Into Felonies Punishable by Prison Term
"Bonus penalty for exercising your protest rights in an unapproved manner: you lose your voting rights."
Aug 13, 2020
Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee voiced outrage Wednesday in response to a bill passed by the General Assembly and headed to Republican Gov. Bill Lee that cracks down on racial justice protesters by making it a felony to camp overnight on state property.
State Senator Brenda Gilmore, a Democrat, suggested that history would not judge the legislative body kindly for the measure. In the years to come, "we will be reminded that we were wrong in terms of staying in the way of these young people protesting, and just speaking, and having a right to share how they feel," said Gilmore, referencing the demonstrators who've been outside the Tennessee State Capitol for two months.
As Nashville Public Radio reported:
Camping on state property without authorization has been made a crime since the Occupy Wall Street movement nearly a decade ago. The Tennessee Senate favored simply adding a requirement to pay restitution and clean up any mess that was made. But House lawmakers insisted on making camping on public property a Class E felony, with up to six years in prison.
The impacts of the bill are expected to come soon. From The Tennessean:
The Senate passed the bill 26-5 on a party-line vote, with a single GOP member, Nashville Sen. Steve Dickerson, opposing it. The House approved the legislation 71-20.
Despite earlier versions establishing an effective date in September and October, the bill will now take effect upon becoming law, which means after Lee signs it or allows it to become law without his signature.
Another Democratic state senator, Jeff Yarbro, tore into the bill on Twitter and pointed out that those convicted under the soon-to-be law stand to lose their voting rights.
While the legislature's special three-day session took time to further criminalize protest, the lawmakers failed "to provide more relief to Tennessee workers who have lost their jobs due to the global pandemic," the Associated Press reported.
"Republican leaders also advanced a bill awarding businesses protection from lawsuits arising from the new coronavirus," AP added.
Yarbro said those priorities were evidence of "the complete absence of leadership coming from Tennessee governor."
"In worst economy since the Depression probably, [the] state decided to spend $1 million to incarcerate protesters," Yarbro tweeted. "With 200,000 people out of work [the] state extended liability protection to worst actors."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee voiced outrage Wednesday in response to a bill passed by the General Assembly and headed to Republican Gov. Bill Lee that cracks down on racial justice protesters by making it a felony to camp overnight on state property.
State Senator Brenda Gilmore, a Democrat, suggested that history would not judge the legislative body kindly for the measure. In the years to come, "we will be reminded that we were wrong in terms of staying in the way of these young people protesting, and just speaking, and having a right to share how they feel," said Gilmore, referencing the demonstrators who've been outside the Tennessee State Capitol for two months.
As Nashville Public Radio reported:
Camping on state property without authorization has been made a crime since the Occupy Wall Street movement nearly a decade ago. The Tennessee Senate favored simply adding a requirement to pay restitution and clean up any mess that was made. But House lawmakers insisted on making camping on public property a Class E felony, with up to six years in prison.
The impacts of the bill are expected to come soon. From The Tennessean:
The Senate passed the bill 26-5 on a party-line vote, with a single GOP member, Nashville Sen. Steve Dickerson, opposing it. The House approved the legislation 71-20.
Despite earlier versions establishing an effective date in September and October, the bill will now take effect upon becoming law, which means after Lee signs it or allows it to become law without his signature.
Another Democratic state senator, Jeff Yarbro, tore into the bill on Twitter and pointed out that those convicted under the soon-to-be law stand to lose their voting rights.
While the legislature's special three-day session took time to further criminalize protest, the lawmakers failed "to provide more relief to Tennessee workers who have lost their jobs due to the global pandemic," the Associated Press reported.
"Republican leaders also advanced a bill awarding businesses protection from lawsuits arising from the new coronavirus," AP added.
Yarbro said those priorities were evidence of "the complete absence of leadership coming from Tennessee governor."
"In worst economy since the Depression probably, [the] state decided to spend $1 million to incarcerate protesters," Yarbro tweeted. "With 200,000 people out of work [the] state extended liability protection to worst actors."
Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee voiced outrage Wednesday in response to a bill passed by the General Assembly and headed to Republican Gov. Bill Lee that cracks down on racial justice protesters by making it a felony to camp overnight on state property.
State Senator Brenda Gilmore, a Democrat, suggested that history would not judge the legislative body kindly for the measure. In the years to come, "we will be reminded that we were wrong in terms of staying in the way of these young people protesting, and just speaking, and having a right to share how they feel," said Gilmore, referencing the demonstrators who've been outside the Tennessee State Capitol for two months.
As Nashville Public Radio reported:
Camping on state property without authorization has been made a crime since the Occupy Wall Street movement nearly a decade ago. The Tennessee Senate favored simply adding a requirement to pay restitution and clean up any mess that was made. But House lawmakers insisted on making camping on public property a Class E felony, with up to six years in prison.
The impacts of the bill are expected to come soon. From The Tennessean:
The Senate passed the bill 26-5 on a party-line vote, with a single GOP member, Nashville Sen. Steve Dickerson, opposing it. The House approved the legislation 71-20.
Despite earlier versions establishing an effective date in September and October, the bill will now take effect upon becoming law, which means after Lee signs it or allows it to become law without his signature.
Another Democratic state senator, Jeff Yarbro, tore into the bill on Twitter and pointed out that those convicted under the soon-to-be law stand to lose their voting rights.
While the legislature's special three-day session took time to further criminalize protest, the lawmakers failed "to provide more relief to Tennessee workers who have lost their jobs due to the global pandemic," the Associated Press reported.
"Republican leaders also advanced a bill awarding businesses protection from lawsuits arising from the new coronavirus," AP added.
Yarbro said those priorities were evidence of "the complete absence of leadership coming from Tennessee governor."
"In worst economy since the Depression probably, [the] state decided to spend $1 million to incarcerate protesters," Yarbro tweeted. "With 200,000 people out of work [the] state extended liability protection to worst actors."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.