Tag Archives: Tennessee

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams The Tennessee Republican Party waited less than 24 hours to start fundraising off the expulsion of two progressive lawmakers from the state House—openly bragging Friday about what critics have called a blatantly anti-democratic move that shows the party’s growing authoritarianism. State Reps. Justin Jones (D-52) and …

Justin Jones, the Democratic Tennessee lawmaker who was expelled from the state Legislature on Thursday, said he was trying to protect all children from the scourge of gun violence—including the children of the Republican colleagues who subsequently voted to oust him—while vowing to keep fighting for gun control. Addressing the …

Sam Stockard, Tennessee Lookout Republican lawmakers sponsored resolutions Monday to expel three Democrats who led a protest on the House floor last week as hundreds of people rallied outside the chamber for tighter gun laws before the session devolved into a fracas. The bills are aimed at state Reps. Justin …

U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett was accused of saying “the quiet part out loud” after the Tennessee Republican responded to the massacre in Nashville on Monday by arguing there’s not much Congress can do to prevent mass shootings. Speaking to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol Monday afternoon following the murder of …

Lookout Staff, Tennessee Lookout Three children and three adult staff members are dead after a mass shooting event Monday at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood. Among the victims are three 9-year-old children: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney. The adult victims are …

Mark Satta, Wayne State University On March 2, 2023, Tennessee became the first state to enact a law restricting drag performances. This law is part of a larger push by Republican lawmakers in numerous states to restrict or eliminate events like drag shows and drag story hours. These legislative efforts …

Orion Rummler Originally published by The 19th Tennessee Gov. Bill  Lee, a Republican, on Thursday signed two bills targeting LGBTQ+ people in the state — one to ban gender-affirming health care for minors and another to ban drag performances that could be viewed by minors and seen to cause them harm. …

In moves that alarmed advocates for transgender youth, the Tennessee and Mississippi GOP-dominated legislatures this week sent bills banning gender-affirming care for minors to their Republican governors’ desks. Even though organizations including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and American Psychiatric …

Anita Wadhwani, Tennessee Lookout Brenda Scott’s father came to west Tennessee as a sharecropper. By 1971 — as a result of hard work and government loans — he had 129 acres of his own, some of which his descendants occupy today. His adult children and grandchildren belong to an enclave …

by Bianca Fortis This story was originally published by ProPublica Leola Scott recently decided to become a more active citizen. The 55-year-old resident of Dyersburg, Tennessee, was driven to action after her son was stabbed to death and nobody was charged. In August, Scott tried to register to vote. That’s …

by Alexis Marshall and Meribah Knight, Nashville Public Radio, and Ken Armstrong, ProPublica This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.   Series: Juvenile Injustice, Tennessee Where Kids …

Dozens of people are dead, and search efforts are ongoing after a historic tornado outbreak and rounds of severe weather ripped through several states Friday and Saturday. Bodies were pulled from a candle factory destroyed in Kentucky, and deaths were confirmed at an Amazon facility that was ripped apart in …

Twenty Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration to stop the enforcement of what they say is a “regulatory overreach” in federal guidelines that ensure protections for transgender individuals from discrimination at work and in school. The states are being led by Tennessee’s Republican Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III. “This case …

Republican states that are withdrawing early from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program are stirring up trouble for gig workers. Selina Smedly, who owns a clean business in Dallas, says she will be cut off from the jobless aid without being prepared. She believes that she will have a hard time …

Republican-led states are ending increased unemployment benefits. West Virginia and Alaska are the latest states to end the supplemental unemployment benefits provided by the federal government. Officials in GOP-led states claim the $300 increased benefits are a disincentive for people to return to work, leading to workforce shortages as businesses …