Image: Lakie Derrick pictured with Representative Bud Hulsey. Image Credit: Greater Kingsport Republican Women
The Tennessee Conservative [By David Seal] –
The best of legislators will tell you that great bills and resolutions start with great ideas presented by constituents. This article features the citizen authors that drafted HJR 182 for its prime sponsor Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport).
The resolution was co-sponsored by the following republican house members: Jay Reedy, Mike Sparks, Rebecca Alexander, Mary Littleton, Elaine Davis, Susan Lynn, Jeff Burkhart, Paul Sherrell, John Crawford, Monty Fritts, Michele Reneau, Rusty Grills, Michele Carringer, Chris Todd, and Dan Howell.
Two patriots that understand and live by their Christian principles wanted our state to express the importance of the traditional family structure, which they backed up with statistical data featured in the resolution. Rachel Mehl and Lakie Derrick teamed up with Hulsey to make HJR 182 a reality.
Mehl and Derrick explain their motivation for writing the resolution in the following statements made for this article.
“Our country, and the world at large, has been falling into moral insanity, confusion, and chaos for quite some time. It’s clear that the tearing apart of the nuclear family is causing most of this chaos- aside from the decline in Christianity. When Lakie told me her idea to write HJR 182, I thought it was not only a good idea, but a necessary one. The family is the basic building block of society, and when it is in pieces, society is as well. I am so thankful for Representative Hulsey’s willingness to sponsor this bill, and his willingness to stand for the Christian values our great state and nation were founded upon. I am hopeful that Tennessee will lead the nation in returning to the principles and values that made our country thrive. It’s time to play offense to take back the culture, and I hope that the passing of HJR 182 will play a part in that.” – Said Rachel Mehl
“As a young Christian conservative and co-author of HJR182, I feel thankful, blessed, and honored at its passage through the House floor. Currently, Rachel and I are anticipating the Governor to sign it into law, and we cannot wait for churches, families, organizations, and people to celebrate their families this June. I originally had the idea to celebrate the nuclear family after seeing Italy’s prime minister hold a celebration for traditional families. After that, I spent eight months asking myself why America—built on Christian values that support God’s design for families—does not have any celebration for it. Ultimately, I went to Rachel, and we discussed there was no greater place to have Nuclear Family Month recognized than in Tennessee. We sat down, wrote the bill, and I called Representative Bud Hulsey, one of the most genuine Christians representing East Tennessee, to see if he would run our bill. Seeing our hard work payoff is a feeling like I have never felt before. While I am proud of us, I am thankful to God for placing this calling in my life and giving me people like Rachel and Bud to work alongside to accomplish things that will preserve the values that make our state the greatest place to live in the nation.” – said Lakie Derrick
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Good.