TN Bill To Censor Conservative Groups Before Elections Could Be Unconstitutional
Image Credit: shutterstock / capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
An obscure caption bill slipped in by Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov Randy McNally that seeks to censor Conservative groups 60-days prior to an election may be Unconstitutional based on a Supreme Court decision in a similar case.
Buried deep in a caption bills HB1201 and SB1005 is a provision that would make it illegal for non-profit Conservative groups to inform voters about candidates or their records.
In a case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, a conservative nonprofit group, Citizens United, challenged campaign finance rules after the Federal Election Commission (FEC) blocked them from promoting and airing a film criticizing presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the time frame leading up to the primaries.
A 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court sided with Citizens United, with Justice Anthony Kennedy penning the court’s opinion.
Kennedy wrote that limiting “independent political spending” from corporations and other groups violates the First Amendment right to free speech.
However, Tennessee Senate Bill 1005 has already passed the committee process in the Tennessee Senate with its next step to be a vote on the Senate floor.
Contact your Senators HERE.
In the Tennessee House, House Bill 1201, has been passed the subcommittee process and sits on the calendar to be heard today (April 12th, 2022) by the House Local Government Committee. Contact info for the Republican members of the Committee can be found at the bottom of this article.
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The Tennessee Conservative has reached out to all Republican members of the House Local Government Committee for comment on the legislation but have not heard back at the time of publication. We have also reached out to Speaker Cameron Sexton for further comment.
On the radio program “Wake Up Memphis” aired yesterday morning (April 11th, 2022), Speaker Sexton was interviewed.
Referring to an interview with Gary Humble of Tennessee Stands, a non-profit that would be affected by the bill, aired Friday on the program, the interviewer asked Sexton “What do you say when being essentially accused of trying to silence the little man with this particular part of the amendment?”
Sexton said regarding Humble, “He can continue to do exactly what he’s been doing, there’s nothing there that’s stopping him. All we’re saying is that, if you get within 60 days of an election, then you need to say where you spent your money.”
“I see this, for him (Humble), merely as a mechanism to continue to try to get non-disclosed contributions to his 501C4, which in turn, theoretically, he could turn around and use for himself in his own campaign and not disclose that he got money from other individuals,” Sexton said.
Sexton then went on to compare Humble to George Soros stating that Soros is “opening up 501C4’s, putting in millions of dollars, and going after Conservative candidates.”
“Whether you’re George Soros or Gary Humble, we’re just saying that if you spend money, within a 60-day window, from a 501C4, more than $5000, you just have to report where you spent it,” Sexton concluded.
Listen to audio clip HERE.
In response to our previous article about the legislation, Tennesseans spoke out.
Matt Robins said, “So, TN is trying to pass an ‘incumbency protection act,’ color me not surprised.”
Judy Babb said, “Sexton is as bad as the Governor.”
Mark Pulliam said, “I complained to my state Rep., Jerome Moon, about the “grassroots censorship” provisions of HB 1201 (which I did not actually read, but relied on the description by TN Stands and TCN). Moon called me back and explained that Speaker Sexton’s intention is to neutralize the influence of Big Tech- and Soros-funded “dark money” groups, which are a growing source of funding for Democratic candidates. The bill, according to Moon, does not prohibit communications per se, but requires disclosures.”
In response to our Big 7 weekend digest video, hosted by The Tennessee Conservative’s founder, Brandon Lewis, viewer Jacqueline Hogan said, “You’re scaring me, Mr. Brandon. I thought I was escaping this crap by leaving New Jersey.”
Ronnie Burger said, “Scott Golden, Sexton and Ron Gant have to go. They have proven for years that they are NOT for the people and if this session doesn’t make it glaringly apparent…God help you.”
In an ongoing survey, we asked “Do you think TN Republican leadership’s legislation to censor Conservative groups prior to election damages the GOP’s public image?”
At the time of reporting, 90% of respondents said YES.
House Bill 1201 is scheduled to be heard by the House Local Government Committee today, April 12th, 2022.
Please find the contact information for the Republicans on the committee below:
House Local Government Committee
John Crawford (chair) (R)– rep.john.crawford@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7623
Dave Wright (vice-chair) (R)– rep.dave.wright@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6879
Kent Calfee (R)– rep.kent.calfee@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7658
Dale Carr (R)– rep.dale.carr@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5981
Ron Gant (R)– rep.ron.gant@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6890
Esther Helton (R)– rep.esther.helton@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1934
John B Holsclaw, Jr (R)– rep.john.holsclaw@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7450
Tom Leatherwood (R)– rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7084
Eddie Mannis (R)– rep.eddie.mannis@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2287
Debra Moody (R)– rep.debra.moody@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3774
Note: Upon founding, The Tennessee Conservative did not elect to have a tax-exempt status. We did this in order to prevent government regulation of our editorial content.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
these two idiots need to be REMOVED FROM OFFICE !!!!!!!!!!
Don’t anybody read any of these Bills to be sure there is No inserted garbage in them? If this bill contained censorship of Liberal Democrats they would already been in court?