The title of this post references a statement by then Senator Harry S. Truman as quoted in the Idaho newspaper The Soda Springs Sun, from July of 1942. It has gained a place in the sayings of our nation as being direct, and somewhat “snarky”.
I do not remember him being “woodshedded” by the “administration” for that clear indication of opinion, rather he was able to enjoy the First Amendment right of free speech which is a natural, preexisting to the founding of this Republic right of expression. George Washington warned us:
Political satire has been a tool of the “opposition” since, well, before the beginning of our nation.
Attributed to Benjamine Franklin, this “cartoon” was created to illicit a response, showing a need to come together or perish. I would wager it did not make Dr. Franklin a favorite of rulers at the time, rather was aimed at the “rabble” of the day.
Later in our state’s storied history, Andrew Jackson was the brunt of caricatures of all kinds:
That wonderful sentence (just referenced from Washington, the First Amendment) in our Bill of Rights does many things of import. It places a chain on Congress mandating that government cannot establish a national religion nor prevent any person for worshiping as they see fit. It also denies government placing a gag on the press, saying it must be free to criticize. Neither can the government deny the ability of the people to peaceably assemble or to petition all forms of government for redress of grievances. That is a lot of “you cannot”, and “we can” in that single sentence, notable in the world for simplicity and force.
Patrick Henry, one of the most outspoken critics of the “status quo” in general and tyrannical governments in particular is quoted as saying:
That promised, recognized force which so many bled to ensure for their posterity is the Second Amendment, which is the rock upon which the First resides. St. George Tucker, soldier in the Revolution and early American jurist later told us:
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, and this without any qualification as to their condition or degree…Wherever standing armies are kept up, and when the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction.”
Tennessee has approached Liberty and has stolen the ability of her citizens to enjoy the rights enumerated in that “wisely contrived” document as noted by Sir William Blackstone of “Commentaries” fame. It is now a crime to carry a firearm “with the intent to go armed” in Tennessee (what nonsense, why else would you bear a firearm).
Let any legislator rebuff the Administration’s line on anything and they are moved to persona non grata, their bills tossed onto the trash heap. The joke they collectively utter as their “oath”, that they will, in all appointments, vote with favor, affection, partiality of prejudice is not followed in application. Prejudice rules the entire session, be it against individual legislators that fail to “play ball” or groups that seek to return the rights of the People enumerated (listed) at the time of the Founding.
I have begged any legislator or unelected bureaucrat to show me in the Tennessee Constitution where it says I should only expect to receive parts of the rights codified in the Declaration of 1796, none have provided me that chapter and verse, never! Rather it holds state government’s feet to this fire, “The declaration of rights hereto prefixed is declared to be a part of the Constitution of this State, and shall never be violated on any pretense whatever. And to guard against transgression of the high powers we have delegated, we declare that everything in the bill of rights contained, is excepted out of the General powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate.”
Federal courts can ORDER the state (Beeler v. Jeff Long Agreement Order signed by Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General of Tennessee (https://tinyurl.com/mteznts8) to undo admitted Civil Rights violations, our state Attorney General can agree and not defend the state against said violations of the Second AND Fourteenth Amendments and the Legislature can turn a blind eye. The “Departments” (specifically Department of Safety and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) who work at the pleasure and speak with the voice of the Governor, can arbitrarily refuse to obey such Federal Court Orders with cover from the General Assembly.
Read the particular part of that Order that says “Defendant (Jeff Long, Commissioner of the Department of Safety) and his officers, agents, employees, and all others acting under his direction and control, are permanently enjoined from implementing or enforcing the Challenged Scheme to prevent individuals aged 18 years old to 20 years old from carrying handguns or obtaining permits to carry handguns on the basis of age alone.”
The Department of Safety is about the business of denying this order, by implementing a “rule” (https://tinyurl.com/4erdax4h) that would enforce the previous unconstitutional statutes that deny 18-20 aged individuals their rights as recognized by the constitution and the court, all because the Legislature did not codify the order in a timely fashion. This offered in the Government Opps committee by Elizabeth Stroecker, Legislative Director and Chief Council for the Department of Safety.
They have (whoever “they” are) proposed to allow “18-20 years old” aged individuals the ability to perfect the “Enhanced Carry Permit” only (TCA 39-17-1351), even though the federal court agreement specifies they are to quit the enforcement of this restriction “on account of their age alone, the Challenged Scheme made them categorically ineligible for an enhanced handgun carry permit under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1351 or concealed handgun carry permit under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1366, categorically ineligible for any permitless carry under Tenn. Code Ann § 39-17-1307, and otherwise generally barred them from exercising the full scope of public carry rights they would otherwise be entitled to exercise.”
The Administration “Caption Bill” being carried by Caucus Leaders in the House William Lamberth and in the Senate Jack Johnson (part of the job as Caucus Leader is to carry Administration bills) merely holds open a “Public Chapter” and does NOT truly express the intent, it allows an amendment to its proposed wording which may or may not have anything to do with it’s true intent (this is the sausage making they prattle about that we the plebians do not get, Uh Huh). The Amendment I have seen just allows the 18-20 years old to apply for an Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit only, it does not comply with the orders of the Court. It does not allow that age bracket to participate in Bill Lee’s vaunted “Constitutional Carry” (39-17-1307 (g)) or the “Concealed Only” (39-17-1366) permit.
This is the furthest thing from Liberty, it is simply displayed tyranny for all who will look to see. Not so much a failure of the non-legislator to “understand how the sausage is made”, more like a case of “hide the sausage”!
As a closing thought, for those who are called out from the podium, in the press or in “cartoons”, if the shoe fits…
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