On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump became the nation’s 47th President. He campaigned the last four years on the promises that he was making to the American voters. On January 20 the world watched as Trump immediately set about to keep many of those promises. Promises made, promises kept – as evidenced by his actions before he went to sleep on his first day back in office.
Time will tell whether and to what extent his promises are kept but he came to the office ready to demonstrate that he has not forgotten the promises that he made to voters. Indeed, a significant number of his promises will depend on whether Congress listened to the voters.
On the issue of ‘promises made, promises kept,’ contrast Trump’s actions on January 20 with those of the Republicans, or those who identify as Republicans, that have been elected in Tennessee over the last 16 years. The contrast is stunning.
Tennessee Firearms Association has been in existence for three decades. It came into existence when the state was controlled by Democrats. The Republican members of the Legislature during that time continuously assured TFA and the public that their party was a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. The promised – during election cycles – that if Tennessee’s voters gave them control of the Legislature and the office of Governor, that they would fully restore the rights of the people that are protected by the Second Amendment.
When Bill Haslam ran for governor in 2009, he assured TFA members in a meeting in Hermitage Tennessee that he supported “constitutional carry”. Obviously, he did not. In his 8 years in office, he managed to repeatedly break that promise.
Then comes Bill Lee. On the Second Amendment, he is probably as bad or worse than Haslam. Yet, Lee also made promises to the voters on what he would do if elected. Lee published on his campaign website his “Ten for Tennessee” promises – those promises, by the way, were soon removed by Lee but they were preserved by the Tennessee Star’s report. Soon after his election, the Tennessee Star and others questioned whether Lee had already broken those promises.
Bill Lee specifically addressed a letter to the Tennessee Firearms Association in May 2018 in which he made specific written promises. He promised that he would “sign into legislation” changes that would i) provide for “Constitutional carry”, ii) defend the “right” to be armed on public property, iii) prohibit the use of taxpayer funds to infringe the “rights guaranteed by the constitution”, iv) allow Tennesseans to lawfully carry on college campuses, and v) allow educators the “right to carry lawfully possessed firearms in the workplace.” Not only did Bill Lee not do any of these immediately upon becoming governor, the evidence is clear six years into his tenure that he has not kept these promises.
But let’s not forget the promises of those who identify as “Republicans” that are or have served in the Tennessee Legislature since 2010. A Republican super majority in the Legislature has totally controlled the public policy of the state since 2010. As early as 2010, the Republican super majority could have fulfilled the innumerable campaign promises to fully support and restore the Second Amendment. But they have not. ‘Promises made’ – yes. ‘Promises kept’ – nope.
With Trump’s example we know that elected officials can at least try to keep their promises. Many may feel that he is doing just that to the extent promise keeping is solely in his power. But what about Haslam, Lee, and the Republican super majority in the Legislature? Have they kept their promises on the Second Amendment?
Are Tennessee’s voters going to demand that they keep their promises? Or is it the fact that Tennessee’s voters have made those demands, but those who control the office of governor and those in Republican leadership in the Tennessee Legislature are suffering from self-induced “promise amnesia” – a condition that curiously manifests right after taking the oath of office and persists until its time to campaign again.
If you want more accountability from Bill Lee, forget it – he is a lame duck that has tried to force a Red Flag law on Tennesseans. He has had his taxpayer-salaried minions in the Tennessee Legislature fighting regularly through Elizabeth Stroeker and representatives from the Department of Safety and TBI to oppose and fringe out rights particularly in committee testimony – example 1, example 2, and example 3. Indeed, in statements in 20221 by former Senate Judiciary Chair Mike Bell discussing a permitless carry law (that Bell conceded was not constitutional carry), he called out Tennessee’s administration and tax payer funded law enforcement for constantly fighting against the Second Amendment dating back even to the original enactment of Tennessee’s permit system.
If you want accountability from the Republican controlled Legislature, that might be attainable but they will need to hear from each of you in a loud, persistent and clear demand. Your demands will need to be sufficient to communicate to those legislators what your expectations are and, if they are not met, that you will find someone else to support in the next election. Your demands will need to be loud enough to overcome the suppression and opposition that originates from the Mount Olympus of Republican leadership in the Legislature.
With a 16 year history, it is abundantly clear that there are too many Republican legislators who oppose the full exercise of your Second Amendment rights (just as Senator Bell indicated was the history of the administration and the state’s law enforcement). Were it not the case, these Republican legislative leaders, operating with the “promise keeping” determination of Donald Trump, had the power to repeal these laws and infringements years ago.