Senate confirms override of Bredesen veto.

The Tennessee legislature has voted to override Gov. Phil Bredesen's (D) veto of HB0962 which allows handgun permit holders the right to lawfully carry their firearms in establishments that serve alcohol for consumption as long as the citizen is licensed to carry and not consuming alcohol. This measure further solidifies the second amendment rights of Tennesseans.

The house passed the measure on Wednesday by a margin of 69-27. The senate passed the override today by a margin of 21-9. According to the Tennessee Constitution, an override of a veto only requires a simple majority vote in each chamber. The bill passed both times with overwhelming support in each chamber.  

The measure is a strong message of confidence in responsible Tennesseans who are law-abiding citizens. 35 other states have similar laws including 6 that border the state, with no incidence of abuse by licensed permit holders. It's about time we get some common sense legislation. 

This common sense law will go into effect July 14, 2008 per Tennessee state law. 

Veto override NOW!

On Thursday Gov. Phil Bredesen (D-TN) vetoed a bill that would have allowed handgun carry permit holders the right to carry their firearms in restaurants that serve alcohol, as long as that place of business was not restricted to patrons who are 21 and older that require identification checks for entrance.  The bill, HB0962, which would have strengthened the second amendment rights of Tennesseans also carried a strict prohibition on the consumption of alcohol while carrying a firearm, as is already federal and state law. 

Gov. Bredesen explained that "As a young man growing up in a small town, I attended a gun safety class in my high school sponsored by the National Rifle Association. A basic tenet taught in that class was this: “Guns and alcohol don’t mix.” This seemingly common sense proposition is as true today as it was almost 50 years ago." Using that justification to veto the bill begs the question-- Did he even read the bill!? The bill was in no way, shape, or form, an endorsement of drinking while carrying firearms, so there wouldn't be this mix of "guns and alcohol". The bill in the context that it arrived to his desk would have allowed law abiding citizens who already carry responsibly to take their firearms with them into restaurants as opposed to leaving them in their cars, or not carrying at all. Just think about that logic for a second...now think about all the places where alcohol is present. Presence of alcohol should not be confused with consumption of alcohol.

Let's face it, if the bill were to pass, the "wild west" mantra that this bill was vetoed on would have been a non-issue. 30+ other states have similar policies that allow their citizens to arm themselves within the context of the law, and have had success with it. The fact is this bill was an affirmation of the rights of Tennesseans who are law-abiding. The bill also would have allowed restaurants the ability to control their own businesses privately by allowing them to post "no-carry" signs if they wished to ban handguns from their premises. The idea that Tennessee would have become a wild west movie gone bad was championed by Ronal Serpas, the Chief of Police for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Let me remind you Chief Serpas, you are an appointed official, not an elected official. Your role is to enforce the laws already in place, not create new policy. 

The bill which was sponsored by Rep. Curry Todd (R-Collierville), received more than 2/3 support from both chambers of the general assembly before being sent to the Governors desk. In vetoing the bill, the Governor clearly abused his discretion. The house and senate could override his veto with simple majority votes in both chambers, and I hope they do. 

Abraham Lincoln once said:

"If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.”

Gov. Bredesen who has painted himself as a staunch supporter of Tennesseans right to keep and bear arms, broke promises about this legislation that he made when campaigning. Governor, bear in mind the words of Lincoln. Trust your citizens.

Sovereignty!

The State of Tennessee is currently moving legislation through the general assembly affirming the sovereign right of the state to govern itself as indicated by the 1oth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The resolution, House Joint Resolution 108(HJR 108) demands that the federal government "halt it's practice of assuming powers and of imposing mandates upon the states for the purposes NOT enumerated by the Constitution of the United States."

This resolution introduced in February 19, 2009, by Representative Susan M. Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet), passed the Civil Practice and Procedure Sub-committee on May 5th, and is now referred to the Judiciary Committee's calendar for May 13th. The bill has strong support from the General Assembly, and Tennessee is one of a growing number of states that are reclaiming state sovereignty guaranteed by the 10th amendment of the Constitution.  The bill introduced by Lynn, also refers to the Supreme Court Ruling in New York v. United States 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), which reaffirmed the rights reserved to the states, and declared that congress "may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states."

In a time of a growing federal government, resolutions like HJR 108, are necessary to reaffirm that we are a nation guided by Constitutional law for the purpose of serving the people. The issue of states rights were included in the original texts of the constitution in order to further strengthen a balance of powers, remove the possibility of totalitarianism, and create the greatest and most successful form of government this world has ever seen. States as intended by the founding fathers, are little areas of experimental government that are directly accountable to their citizens. They have the right to legislate themselves, and serve the specific needs of their constituents. As citizens of the United States we are granted rights to control our government, and when necessary, move to another state that more closely resembles our ideological, social, and political beliefs. This is the beauty of American government. 

With an increasingly overreaching federal government, that does not respect the rights of the states, the ability of the government to serve it's constituents is greatly diminished. A strong federal government that paralyzes the ability of states to govern themselves is a reversion to the form of government that sparked the creation of these United States, independence from a single government head, the Monarchy of King George III, and the tyranny that has always been the product of governments that do not rely on individual rights and a system that is void of checks and balances.

I call on the House and Senate of the State of Tennessee to resoundingly pass this resolution, and I strongly urge Governor Phil Bredesen(D-TN) to show his full support for this measure, the people of Tennessee, and the privilege of the state to retain those powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution.

Here's a little refresher on the 10th amendment:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States respectively, or to the people."

Grow, Grow, Grow...

So this year is the first spring in our new home. I'm loving home ownership, especially yard-work! Since the beginning of spring my little thumb has been itching to turn green. I think I caught a case of the gardening bug. With all the nice weather down here in Nashville, Tennessee, I've been spending a lot of time and money at Bates Nursery. Not to mention the labor I've put into the yard. Call it a labor of love.

It's been a learning experience. My biggest failure this year is my Boston Ferns. I wanted to have hanging ferns on my porch. It's the South, and nothing says Southern like a shady porch, with beautiful ferns, some rocking chairs, and a pitcher of sweet iced tea. Got everything else, besides the ferns to work. The part sun/bright shade was way to bright for them to even survive. So I took them down and am reviving them in a shady corner with lots of water. In their place I hung some Evolvulus Blue Daze, a sun loving, drought tolerant plant. Not to mention the flowers on this thing are about the bluest you can get when it comes to blue flowers. I like them better than the ferns!

Where are the shady trees? We fixed that too! We got a heck of a deal on some pretty mature trees. We planted an 18ft Pin Oak in the front yard, moved our existing maple to the back along with a new Autumn Blaze Maple. Thirsty, Thirsty, Trees!

We used to have three Arborvitaes as accent shrubs up front. I removed them yesterday, and replaced them with some Boxwoods. The Boxwoods look great, they are slow growing, and a perfect low-hedge plant. The look good in front of brick, and make an awesome backdrop for the annuals we planted in the flower bed. We planted almost everything sun-loving from irisis to cox comb. The Arborvitaes (two of the three, one did not make it through two summers of droughty conditions) now reside in huge planters on the back patio. I'm sure they appreciate the drainage of the potting soil, organic mushroom compost, and soil conditioner, a lot better than the clay they were trying to grow in. 

I'm almost afraid to see what my water bill will be through the summer. 

Now the fun begins...watching it all grow. Cross your fingers!