Because In TN, Guns Will Always Win
As I sit here in my humble abode in the formerly great state of Tennessee, I am anxiously awaiting yet another bizarre day in Tennessee politics. Today, the Tennessee House of Representatives will take a vote on whether to expel three members who interrupted the house to voice their support for gun control after the horrific shooting in Nashville last month. Of course, for anyone who lives in Tennessee or watches Tennessee politics, it is only fitting that the legislature would rather focus on eliminating opposition to guns than address anything relevant to preventing the next mass shooting. After all, if it comes down to just a couple more dead children versus the guns, the guns will win out in Tennessee each time. After all, guns don’t kill people except when the guns are attached to a person who is killing with the guns.
Besides being interesting for that reason, this is also interesting in that many Republicans continue to defend the January 6th insurrectionists. After all, they just interrupted a constitutional proceeding to complete the American voting process for President. So, I guess it would have been ok if the protestors outside the Tennessee capitol stormed the Tennessee house like was done in DC. But it was a cringe-worthy moment when three elected representatives, who had a right to be in the house, disrupted the house for a short time to protest within the chamber.
Of course, there is another odd difference that is also a similarity. In the case of January 6th, the insurrectionists in some cases were carrying guns and violently protesting the election of a Democrat. In the other case, three elected people, except for the bullhorns and without guns, were peacefully protesting gun violence. Yep, guns will win every time, especially in Tennessee.
As I contemplate the meaning of this all, I wonder what the real effect of this vote should be if the members are removed. As this has only happened in the past after an investigation and for more egregious offenses, then this is uncharted territory. With the removal of these representatives, some serious and absurd questions need to be addressed.
- Since a county commissioner and not the voters would select any interim representative, should the people of those districts be allowed to not pay any taxes until they get to choose a new representative? After all, from this day on, they would be taxed without representation. It’s only fitting that these voters should not have to pay for the government that denies them their seat at the table.
- Should the voters in those districts be allowed as individuals or as a group to sue the state of Tennessee for denying them their right to the representation they elected? The answer is of course. First, in the United States, we can sue anyone for anything at any time. Will they win? Who knows? Maybe. But it would be at least entertaining to watch.
- Do the voters in those districts have the right to declare themselves independent states within Tennessee? It might sound absurd, but since the will of those voters will be denied, then it could be viewed that the Tennessee House will effectively divorce itself from any area affected.
- In an even more absurd possibility, the person who selects the representative for the affected areas could impose a Republican representative on a Democrat-based electorate. So, in what way would that outcome not reflect the election processes of either China or Russia?
Like many in Tennessee, around the country, and around the world, I will be watching this Tennessee carny sideshow. I will laugh and cry at whatever is decided. I will laugh because this is absurd. I will cry because Tennessee will once again prove itself petty at best. But I will save my biggest tears for the people who died in the Nashville shooting. After all, they lived in a state that doesn’t have time to address how to prevent the next mass shooting but does have the time to prevent the next protest of gun violence.