Know Before You Vote: Tennessee’s Constitutional Amendments #2 and #3 Explained
The next two amendments on our ballot address property taxes and victims’ rights. As voters, we have a responsibility to educate ourselves before voting on changes to our state’s highest governing document.
Unlike ordinary statutes, constitutional amendments establish or change provisions that the General Assembly cannot simply revise through ordinary legislation. If approved by voters, these amendments become part of our state constitution, and future legislators may enact laws to implement them within the boundaries of it.
The Question of Amendment One, When to Withhold the Right to Bail?
Our state constitution is purposefully set up to be very difficult to amend. Our state founders, and those who participated in the two subsequent conventions, knew that the supreme law of our state needed to be secured and protected from hasty or temporary changes.
This year, we have three amendments that have worked their way through the legislative branch, and now require the approval of us, the voters.
The Ten Commandments: A Historical Document in American and Tennessee Education
When Americans debate whether the Ten Commandments have a legitimate place in public education, the discussion is often reduced to one question: Are the Ten Commandments religious? The answer is unquestionably yes.
But that is not where the question ends.
Tennessee’s Constitution, Once the “Least Imperfect and Most Republican of the State Constitutions”
Thomas Jefferson referred to the Tennessee Constitution as the “least imperfect and most republican of the state constitutions” when he received it in 1796.
The Republican Party’s Shift Toward Moderation, from Abortion to Surveillance
At one point in our not so distant history, Republicans had a party platform that Chrisitan conservatives could identify with. The 2014 GOP platform protected life at conception, identified marriage as between a man and a woman, and clearly communicated a promise to protect the 2nd Amendment.
It also promised it would fight against the mass surveillance by the government in our daily lives.
Eight years later, the Republican Party re-wrote their platform, under the Chairmanship of Senator Marsha Blackburn and with the direction of President Trump. The platform shifted from a values-focus to a shortened “play book” with a focus on the hot button topics at the time.
Can the Constitution Save America? Two Ideologies Are Hoping It Won’t.
The Constitution was made for a wholly moral people. It does not work otherwise. John Adams stated, “It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue.” (1776)
The Constitution, Flock Cameras and the Future of Tennessee
Our Founding Fathers saw first-hand what happens when the government over-steps their power and treats their citizens as guilty before being proved innocent. During the years leading up to our Declaration of Independence, British rule prohibited the English government from searching homes without permission and probable cause. But respecting that law didn’t carry over into the colonies, the British soldiers were not held accountable and broke into homes and businesses as they saw fit.
Two States, Two Realities: Comparing Abortion Access in Massachusetts and Tennessee
Last week, Massachusetts amended their 24-week abortion ban to now allow a woman to abort her baby all the way up to birth. It became the 11th state to allow a doctor to perform a full-term abortion. Other states with the same legal protections are Alaska, Oregon, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan, Vermont, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.
The Long Game: Educate, Unite and Win in Tennessee
Emotions are high after this week’s election. It seems across the state, seats were flipped from Republican to Democrat on many County Commission and School Boards. Many grassroots candidates couldn’t quite get enough votes to secure a change in leadership in many state positions.
Four Days Before Election Day: An Election “Sermon” for Tennessee
When a pastor leads his church to apply Biblical truths to all areas of life, not excluding politics, those who stand in greatest opposition are Republicans.