Gov. Lee Signs Bill To Combat “Driving Equality Act” That Media Has Claimed Will “Undo Strides In Public Safety”

Gov. Lee Signs Bill To Combat “Driving Equality Act” That Media Has Claimed Will “Undo Strides In Public Safety”

Gov. Lee Signs Bill To Combat “Driving Equality Act” That Media Has Claimed Will “Undo Strides In Public Safety”

Image: From Left – Rep. John Gillespie, Gov. Bill Lee and Sen. Brent Taylor. Image Credit: Senator Brent Taylor / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –

On Thursday Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) signed a bill into law that would allow Tennessee law enforcement agencies to operate at their full legal capacity by prohibiting local government from putting limits on that capacity.

The Memphis Flyer previously claimed that this legislation “could undo strides in public safety” as it results in the nullification of Memphis’ “Driving Equality Act.”

HB1931/SB2572, sponsored by Rep. John Gillespie (R-Memphis-District 97) and Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis-District 31), passed in the House of Representatives by a 68-24 vote on March 7th, 2024, and passed by a 26-6 vote in the Senate only a week later.

This legislation was brought in response to a Memphis city ordinance that banned local police from making traffic stops for secondary violations like license plates not being secured to the appropriate location on a vehicle, but still clearly displayed or single brake light, headlight, and running light outages.

The city’s “Driving Equality Act” was passed back in April of 2023 by the Memphis City Council following the death of Tyre Nichols that January.

Despite objection from Nichols’ parents and other supporters of the ordinance, Gov. Lee argued that Nichols’ death should be cause for better accountability for officers abusing their power, not for local limits on law enforcement’s legal capacity. 

“I think what’s most important for us to remember is that we can give law enforcement tools, but we’ve got to hold law enforcement to a standard of using those tools appropriately, where there’s an appropriate interaction with the public,” Gov. Lee stated.

The legal team for Nichols’ parents reportedly responded to the governor’s signing of HB1931/SB2572 with one word, “SHAME.”

In Tennessee, whenever a bill is passed by both chambers of the state legislature it is sent to the governor for his signature. 

The governor may choose to sign the bill into law, veto it and send it back to the legislature, or he can allow the bill to become law without his signature by letting it sit on his desk unsigned for a ten-day period. 

Since taking office in 2019, Gov. Lee has never used his veto power on a piece of legislation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly. 

About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. 

You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.

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5 Responses

  1. Driving Equality Act only promotes criminal behavior in another move from leftist Democrats to ‘hamstring’ law enforcement (think DEFUND THE POLICE only in an indirect manor!). Defund the Police became such an ‘Albatross’ that even LEFTIST won’t even own the fact that they supported it, yet here they are promoting it in another manner! LOL! The state legislature is correct in over riding this ignorance!

  2. It does not matter where the license plate is located on the vehicle or if the vehicle, “automobile” has a only one tail light or even one head light. The fact is that theses devils want to control people and make money off of people who may not be able to afford to have two tail lights, etc. The police are “Policy Enforcers” and are mostly used by the city, county, and state to generate funds and create bonds against the citizens Social Security funds. These corporations: City, County and State make millions of dollars off bonds created on every traffic stop and court case. These corporations age not legal in the first place! The corporations are registered in Washington D.C. and are “Foreign Corporations” and do not have any authority ove rthe people of the united states of America. the only way they have authority is if you allow them to bully you into thinking they have authority over you. Read the Constitution and see that they cannot impede our travel, etc. Wake up people and fire any one who is presenting these bills that are not Constitutional! Never elect them again! They are stealing your liberty a little at a time and “they say” it’s for your safety when they do not give a dam about your safety. What they care about is getting your money and controlling you through fear and intimidation. Don’t let them do it!

    1. “Can’t afford two taillights or two headlights?” Really? But you can afford gas? Oil? Registration/tags? Hmmm. Give me a break. Tags? Anywhere that they can be visible from the rear while not blocking the driver’s view through the rear windshirld should be reasonabe. If they are laying in tne rear seat, that is not reasonable. How much does it cost you to hang your license tag in the right place? Really?

  3. Also, the corporation of The United States of America, (USA inc.) has been bankrupt for several years not. Look it up in Tallahassee, Florida and see! They USA Inc. has no authority over the men and women of the united states of America Republic. They are just bullying people into thinking they have authority over you. We are going back o The Common Law and most of these legislators and judges will be out of jobs very soon. The laws of a corporation are for those who are paid by the corporation to preform tasks such as police, judges, etc. in the local and state governments. The laws are for them to abide by and not to be enforced against the men and women of the city, county, state! Read the Constitution and learn the Common Law and begin to operate under the Common Law, (the Law of God) and stop allowing these evil devils to put us/you under Maritime Law, which is the law of the Seas. You/we are on the land and not subject to Maritime Law. Look it up and learn on telegram.org by going to that site and downloading the app. Do not go to google or apple for the app. Wake up and study and stop being a slave to these corporations!

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