Bill Lee – how broken promises place Tennessee families and children at risk.

More to the point regarding issues of concern relating to the Second Amendment and the choices that Tennesseans have the right to make regarding personal protection and the protection of their families, Bill Lee has not published a detailed report that talks about what he has done as governor during the last 4 years on the topic of your right to keep and bear arms. The concept of doing something on a topic which the 2nd Amendment proclaims “shall not be infringed” logically should have consisted mainly of repealing state statutory and regulatory infringements – not crafting new ones like he did in 2021.

Although we are just a few months into his second term, the Legislature is currently considering bills addressing Second Amendment issues. Bill Lee’s administration is busy sending taxpayer funded administration spokespersons, like Elizabeth Stroecker, to the Legislature to tell our elected legislators that Bill Lee’s administration opposes a wide range of pro Second Amendment bills.

With recent events in Tennessee, it is time to look back at what Bill Lee’s promises were four years ago to determine if he in fact has done with respect to your Second Amendment rights in the last four years “like we said we would”.

Four years ago, Bill Lee stood in front of a Church of Christ building, walked inside and told us what kind of faith he had in Tennessee. His campaign theme of “I am not a politician” was resounding, as much of the rest of the Republican party in the primaries that year were divided among Diane Black, Randy Boyd, and Beth Harwell. In the end, Lee survived the primary as the victor with 36.75% of the vote – that is, most Republicans, almost 2/3, voted for someone other than Bill Lee. Yet, he became governor.

What did Bill Lee say in his campaign statements in 2018 on the issue of your rights as protected by the Second Amendment? One of those promises addressed the safety of our schools and is particularly of interest at this time.

The answer to the question of whether Bill Lee fulfilled his 2018 promises is sort of hard to find in 2023 but there is some evidence to be considered.

Early in his 2018 campaign Bill Lee told voters that he did not believe in constitutional carry (constitutional carry is a system where it is simply not a crime to carry a firearm for personal defense and where no permit is required) as reflected in this Nashville Public Radio (now WPLN) report.

Tennessee did not have constitutional carry in 2018 and it does not have it today because of Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1307(a)(1). Bill Lee, as reflected in this screenshot from Nashville Public Radio’s website during the 2018 campaign, stated that he wanted to keep Tennessee’s permit system. He believed that people should be required to have training and background checks [before they could be allowed to exercise a constitutionally protected right].

When he was quoted by WPLN, was he applying the Second Amendment’s “shall not be infringed” mandate? No. Why? Because he said he was listening to “law enforcement and what they believe ….” The constitution expressly prohibits infringements on your rights regardless of what “law enforcement” – i.e., the government – believes. Because of that express prohibition, it really does not matter whether some in law enforcement believe that it might be good, reasonable or even necessary to if that belief infringes those constitutionally protected rights.

What was wrong with listening to law enforcement? They are not speaking with authority as public officials on what the constitution allows or prohibits government to do. They are not even in the branch of government that makes policy. They are part of the administrative branch of government. Their jobs are to enforce the laws that the Legislature enacts. It is not their job to make the decisions, as courts do, of what does the constitution allow, or on the issue of what the 2nd Amendment, prohibits. It is simply not law enforcement’s job to decide what public policy should be within the limits that the constitution might even allow government discretion. So, in 2018 when he started, Bill Lee was not even listening to those whose duty it was to make sure Tennessee’s statutes and policies were compliant with the constitutional mandates. He was not listening to those whose job it was to create policy for the state. He was not guided by constitutional mandates or limits.

What else is there? Bill Lee’s 2018 campaign web site had some promises but they were long ago removed. In fact, it appears that those 2018 promises and most of his 2018 website was “purged” early after he became governor as the Tennessee Star reported in 2019. As early as 2019, the Tennessee Star reported that Lee’s contract for Tennessee, which he called at the time “Ten for Tennessee” had been removed from the 2018 campaign website.

The Tennessee Star fortunately, however, kept a copy of Bill Lee’s promises which it referenced in December 2018, weeks before Bill Lee took office as governor in January 2019. In that report, the Tennessee Star was already concluding that Bill Lee had not only removed his “contract for Tennessee” from his website but that, in their analysis, Bill Lee had already breached those vague and ambiguous promises.

This is the original list of the “Ten for Tennessee” promises by candidate Bill Lee, as reported by the Tennessee Star, in that report:

1. Foster an Environment Where Jobs Continue to Grow
2. Rethink Public Education with Major Vocational Reforms, Real School Choice, and Civics Education
3. Stand up for Rural Tennessee by Expanding Economic Opportunity and Winning the War On Opioids
4. Get Tough on the State Budget by Making Government Smaller and More Efficient
5. Ensure New Voices in Nashville by Passing Term Limits and the Challenging the Influence Culture of Insiders
6. Create a New Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
7. Make Government More Accessible, Open, and Accountable to Taxpayers
8. Protect and Defend a Culture of Life
9. Defend Our Constitutional Liberties Without Compromise
10. Enforce the Rule of Law on Immigration

Notice that none of Bill Lee’s “Ten for Tennessee” talked about REAL Constitutional Carry. None of those ten items addressed removing the infringements on the rights protected by the 2nd Amendment. None of them addressed eliminating gun free zones, or reducing fees on permits, or expanding reciprocity, or allowing 18-20 year olds to obtain permits, or even allowing Tennesseans to carry longarms. None of that was referenced by Bill Lee in 2018 and none of that has been part of Bill Lee’s agenda, much less his accomplishments, as governor for the last 5 years.

Indeed, the closest thing he that promised in his “Ten for Tennessee” as candidate Lee in 2018 was that he promised to “defend our constitutional liberties without compromise” — what does that even mean? Looking at his actions in hindsight over the last 5 years, it meant nothing then and it has caused nothing to change.

Now, those are just some of the public reports on third party websites that have not been purged over the last 5 years. But there is more to consider.

In 2018, Bill Lee was given an opportunity to respond to the Tennessee Firearms Association’s 2018 candidate survey. He did not respond to the survey questions. He did write a letter to TFA about what he would do if he became governor. [Letter is included below] In that letter Bill Lee said –

• He supported “arming school teachers to aid in defense of our schools.”
  
• “I would be dedicated [as governor] to defending our Constitutional rights, including those guaranteed by Article I, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution, and the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.
  
• He promised that, as governor, he “will sign legislation that strengthens these fundamental rights, including legislation that:”
  
  • “Strengthens the lawful right of self-defense by providing for Constitutional carry.”
    
  • “Defends the right to bear arms on public property.”
    
  • “Defends the 10th Amendment and prohibits the use of taxpayer funds from being used to violate the rights guaranteed by the constitution.”
    
  • “Permits any law-abiding permit-holder to lawfully carry firearms on Tennessee college campuses.”
    
  • “Allows educators to be part of the school security solution and exercise their right to carry lawfully possessed firearms in the workplace.”
    
  • “Provides for the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the State Constitution to be taught in our public schools, including the requirement of passage of a civics exam prior to graduation from high school.”
    
    Letter from Bill Lee undated but received approximately May 18, 2018 (see full image below)

Has Bill Lee, as governor, done what Bill Lee, as candidate said he would do? No.

But perhaps, just perhaps, Bill Lee might claim that as governor, he does not introduce laws. He might claim that as governor it is not his option to file legislation – he can only sign what the Legislature proposes and passes. So, he might claim, it is not his fault that he did not fulfill these promises if the Tennessee Legislature did not put these bills on his desk for his signature.

If he says that, how does he explain that in 2020 he said that he was “introducing” legislation that he incorrectly referred to as “constitutional carry” and that ultimately became his 2021 permitless carry law. The fact is that House Legislative rules expressly permitted up to 75 “administration”, that is, bills from the governor, to be filed annually.

At any time in the last 5 years Bill Lee, or his administration, could have filed bills in the legislature addressing each of the topics that he promised he would sign into law as governor… 5 years ago … but has not done so. If those bills exist, or requests for those bills exist, then either the Governor or the Legislative sponsors should be able to provide them now to the Tennessee Firearms Association so that this report can be updated.

The fact is, based on what we know at this time, none of Bill Lee’s promised changes that relate to Second or Tenth Amendment issues became law in the last 5 years in any meaningful or material manner.

Certainly, Bill Lee did introduce an administration bill in 2020 and perhaps in 2021 that created a new, limited and qualified statutory affirmative defense to carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed. But an available defense that the citizen can present and has the burden to present once stopped by an officer or charged or arrested or tried in a criminal case is not “constitutional carry.” TFA even recommends that people avoid relying on it because of the potential risks for criminal prosecution that it creates in addition to other significant problems. Further, part of that law has already been determined by a federal court settlement to violate the Second Amendment, the 14th Amendment and to constitute a federal civil rights violation.

Consider also the apparent inconsistency in his promise in 2018 that he would sign constitutional carry into law but another promise in the same letter was that he would allow “permit holders” to carry on college campuses. Was it his intent that constitutional carry does not include carry for self-defense in certain places where only people with permits would be “allowed” to carry? That is probably a good assumption since under his 2021 permitless carry law, only permit holders can carry in public parks and greenways. Because of the way his 2021 law was proposed and passed, those who decide to (or can only afford to) carry without a permit could be charged with a criminal offense (see, TCA § 39-17-1311) for carrying a handgun in a public park or on a greenway without a permit.

Consider his 2018 promise to eliminate gun free zones on public property. This has not occurred, not even for parks and greenways. Indeed, Bill Lee is the one who controls whether citizens can carry firearms in the state capitol but he refused to take down those signs when he became governor.

In 2022, Bill Lee ran for a second term as governor and was re-elected. What promises did he make as Candidate Lee in 2022 that would remove infringements on your rights as the Second Amendment mandates? His 2022 campaign website (www.billleeworks.com ) did not have any promises on the Second Amendment at all. The only reference on the 2022 website fell under the “Public Safety” category where he stated that he “expanded” the Second Amendment rights of Tennesseans:

The 2022 Bill Lee campaign website had none of the promises that Lee made to Tennessee Firearms Association in 2018, other than the claim that he expanded rights by passing an additional affirmative defense to a criminal charge of carrying a firearm with intent to go armed in public, which apparently is still mischaracterized as “constitutional carry”.

But his 2022 website contained no reference to arming teachers for school security, no reference to eliminating gun free zones on public property, no reference to allowing Tennesseans to carry firearms (with permits) on college campuses, and no reference to protecting Tennessee by enforcing the 10th Amendment against federal 2nd Amendment abuses. These things were not done in the last 5 years. He did not promise in 2022 that he would continue to pursue them as a second term governor.

There was simply not a single promise on Bill Lee’s 2022 campaign website about what he will do on Second Amendment issues if re-elected. That omission is particularly notable given that in June 2023 the United States Supreme Court released its landmark Second Amendment decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., et al. v. Bruen, et al, No: 20-843.

In that decision, the United States Supreme Court placed a very high burden on states that seek to infringe, in any way, conduct that might infringe or restrict a right within the scope of the Second Amendment. Under Bruen, the burden to justify a state or local restriction (such as the prohibition on carrying in public parks or the fact that some but not all who can lawfully possess firearms are allowed to carry them in public) is on the state – not the individual. According to Bruen, “To justify its regulation, the government may not simply posit that the regulation promotes an important interest. Rather, the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” It was clear to TFA, which did a preliminary analysis of the Bruen decision the same day it was released, that Bruen calls into serious question the constitutionality of many existing state statutes and regulations.

There is another aspect of this reflection on the last 5 years that warrants consideration. Tennessee has by constitutional mandate one of the weakest offices of governor in the nation. That is because the veto override process only requires a simple majority in the Legislature. As we have seen in the past, it is not uncommon for a Tennessee governor to veto a bill and then to have the Legislature override the veto with a simple majority vote. It can be and it has been done. Now, take Lee’s promises in 2018. These were publicly known issues because other candidates including former Senator Mae Beavers was talking about them as she was also running for governor that year. The question becomes, if these were issues of such important public discourse that Bill Lee addressed them on the campaign trail in 2018, why is it that the super majority of Republicans in the Tennessee Legislature has not stepped up and enacted the laws that Lee promised in 2018? Some House and Senate individual members did attempt to bring these issues forward by introducing bills, but they were defeated in their efforts and the opposition often came from Bill Lee’s own administration using taxpayer funded administrative staff.

The abandonment of any Second Amendment promises by Bill Lee is underscored by the circumstances of school safety in Tennessee today. He has not pushed for nor passed REAL constitutional carry. He has not pushed for nor passed the elimination of gun free zones, like schools. He has not pushed for nor passed campus carry laws. He has not pushed for nor passed laws that would allow school employees to be individually armed – in their choice – at school to protect themselves and their students from armed intruders who have an agenda to kill children. It should be of great concern to Tennesseans and particularly to Republican supporters that Bill Lee, his administration and his loyal followers in the Legislature have not only failed to passes these laws – they have in almost every instance worked actively to defeat bills that were filed to implement the changes.

The refusal of elected officials to actively search for and remove any infringements on the rights protected by the Second Amendment from continued existence in state law, state regulations, state ordinances, state signage, and state policies is not just a broken promise. It may actually deny Tennesseans the right and capacity to defend themselves, their lives and the lives of others and such denials can and do have life long and life ending consequences for some.

Tennessee Legislature, using the veto override powers if necessary, must be held accountable to change the laws in ways that the Second Amendment’s mandate requires – despite Bill Lee if necessary.