In Gun Law Push, Tennessee Governor's Office Memo Says NRA Prefers To 'Round Up Mentally Ill People'

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s administration accused the National Rifle Association of wanting to use involuntary commitment laws “to round up mentally ill people and deprive them of other liberties,” according to documents drafted by the Republican’s staffers as part of their initial attempt to pass a gun control proposal earlier this year.

The memos, provided by Lee’s office as part of a public records request, reveal a rare criticism of the powerful gun lobby made by the Republican governor. Lee has previously praised the NRA’s efforts to protect the Second Amendment. But he has since faced opposition from the group as he works to pass gun control legislation in response to a deadly Nashville school shooting that took place in late March.

So far, Lee has proposed keeping firearms away from people who could harm themselves or others. He is currently facing pushback from both the GOP-dominant General Assembly and firearms rights advocacy groups, including the NRA, that are wary of increasing gun restrictions in ruby red Tennessee. The NRA’s opposition is particularly notable because the group was a crucial player in Lee’s successful push in 2021 to pass a law that allows people 21 and older to carry handguns without a permit in Tennessee.

That means Lee has been forced to go on the defensive, arguing that what he has proposed is not, in fact, a so-called red flag law like those adopted by other states in the wake of tragedies. Instead, the talking points show he is attempting to sell his proposal as “the most conservative in the nation” and the best plan for “Second Amendment advocates.” He also is taking aim at advocates who want to focus on Tennessee laws that allow committing people without their permission if they pose “a substantial likelihood of serious harm” due to a “mental illness or serious emotional disturbance.”




https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tennessee-governor-nra_n_647a90d7e4b091b09c32bf7f

MD: Moore joins Democratic governors in call to fight textbook censorship

As lawmakers nationwide push to limit the types of books that can be found in schools, Gov. Wes Moore (D) joined nine other governors to fight censorship of textbooks in a letter released Friday.

Moore, along with other Democratic governors, called on textbook publishers to “hold the line” and refuse to water down their educational materials at the behest of Republican lawmakers and conservative parents.

“If we are to continue striving for a more perfect union, then we must carry out our duty of ensuring future generations understand our full history as well as the contributions of all its people. That includes learning from our mistakes. These lessons are vital to preparing our youth to fully engage in a free and fair democracy,” the governors wrote in the letter.

They added: “Sanitizing our educational texts for the mercurial comfort of a few today ultimately limits the next generation’s ability to make informed decisions for themselves.”

Friday’s letter was sent to nine major publishers selling textbooks and educational materials.




https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/06/03/moore-joins-democratic-governors-in-call-to-fight-textbook-censorship/

NJ: Acrimony grips GOP primary in Morris County

Republicans in the 26th Legislative District are headed into an acrimonious primary on Tuesday headlined by former running mates whose tense relationship predates the 2021 race that pushed one of them out of office.

Incumbent Assemblymen Jay Webber and Brian Bergen — Morris County Republicans, and two of the Assembly’s most conservative members — face a challenge from former Parsippany Mayor Robert Peluso and ex-Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce, who lost her seat in the Legislature after Morris Republicans backed her challenger in 2021.

In the upper chamber race, Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris) is opposed by longtime Morris County Commissioner Thomas Mastrangelo, who ran alongside DeCroce in 2021’s Assembly race.

The discord in the 26th has so far centered around Bergen and DeCroce and the Senate faceoff, with Webber — the top Assembly vote-getter in the 2021 race — and Peluso keeping their powder relatively dry.

This is a Republican stronghold comprising mostly towns in Morris County, one that GOP gubernatorial challenger Jack Ciattarelli won handily in 2021.




https://newjerseymonitor.com/2023/06/03/acrimony-grips-gop-primary-in-26th-district/

DLCC: Historic Number of LGBTQ+ State Legislators Fight Back Against GOP Extremism

PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON — As the country celebrates Pride Month, the DLCC is highlighting the nearly 200 openly LGBTQ+ Democratic legislators – an over 15% increase from last year – and the work our state Democrats are doing to pass policies that uplift these communities and advance LGBTQ+ rights. At a time when the GOP is mounting historic attacks on LGBTQ+ Americans in the states, especially the transgender community, Democratic majorities and a historic number of LGBTQ+ lawmakers are fighting back to defend fundamental rights.

“We are proud to stand with our LGBTQ+ neighbors and honor the sacrifices made by generations of activists, leaders, and lawmakers who fought to make this nation a better place for their communities,” said DLCC interim President Heather Williams. “In every corner of the country, state Democrats are protecting the rights of millions of Americans while Republican lawmakers continue to threaten countless LGBTQ+ lives by advancing their extremist agenda. The GOP is showing no signs of slowing down their attacks, and state Democrats will continue to stand up against the Republican Party’s heartless, bigoted agenda.”

According to DLCC stats, of the over 210 openly LGBTQ+ state legislators:

Nearly 200 are Democrats (over 6% of Democratic legislators nationwide)

21 legislators, or nearly 10%, identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming.
Over 80, or nearly 40%, identify as BIPOC

A record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced during the 2023 state legislative calendar. As of May 2023, the ACLU has tracked nearly 500 bills, many of them specifically targeting the transgender community.

GOP legislators have focused their efforts on attacking trans kids, passing laws to ban children from playing on sports teams, make it illegal for doctors to provide, often lifesaving, gender-affirming care, and bar them from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity.

In Virginia’s divided legislature, the Democratic-led Senate is killing anti-LGBTQ+ House Republican bills targeting transgender athletes, students, and minors.

Senate Democrats killed a Republican House sports ban bill.

Senate Democrats killed a Republican House bill that would force schools to out students if they identify as a gender different from their sex at birth.

Senate Democrats killed a Republican Senate bill that would ban gender transition procedures for minors.

In Democratic-led legislatures, lawmakers are working on efforts to not only keep their vulnerable populations safe and protected but also to make their states safe havens for others, passing laws to shield out-of-state patients from facing repercussions for traveling to receive care, ensure doctors have protections so they can provide care, and codify LGBTQ+ protections into law.

Michigan and Minnesota’s new Democratic trifectas are working to expand LGBTQ+ rights and protections, including adding protections for sexual orientation and gender identity into the Civil Rights Act, hate crime protections, and banning conversion therapy for minors.



https://dlcc.org/press/historic-number-of-lgbtq-state-legislators-fight-back-against-gop-extremism/

The Ike & Tina Turner Revue Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep Mountain High 1971

State of Arkansas and Crawford County sued over library obscenity law

The Central Arkansas Library System and 17 other plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit Friday against both the state and Crawford County, alleging that two sections of a new law that directly affects library operations are unconstitutional.

Act 372 of 2023 alters libraries’ material reconsideration processes and creates criminal liability for librarians who distribute content that some consider “obscene” or “harmful to minors.” Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the law in March, and it is set take effect Aug. 1.

The lawsuit claims Act 372 “imposes a content-based restriction on speech,” “fails to provide clear notice as to what acts are criminalized,” and gives “unfettered discretion to quorum courts and city councils to decide whether materials are ‘appropriate’ without any definite procedural safeguards or standards.”

These portions of the law therefore violate the First Amendment right to freedom of expression and the Fourteenth Amendment right to due process, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.



https://arkansasadvocate.com/2023/06/02/state-of-arkansas-and-crawford-county-sued-over-library-obscenity-law/

CT legislature votes to ban child marriages

Hours after a group of advocates dressed in wedding dresses, with chains around their wrists and tape over their mouth, gathered outside the Capitol Friday morning to urge state lawmakers to pass a bill that would ban child marriages, the Senate unanimously approved the measure.

“I stand in support of this very important piece of legislation that also impacts my family greatly,” said Sen. Herron Gaston, D-Bridgeport. “My eldest sister was married to a gentleman who was 50 years old only when she was 17 years of age in the beautiful island of St. Lucia. I’ve seen the devastating impact it had on her physically and how it deprived her of her innocence and of her childhood. She bore five children from this marriage and eventually had to flee from the island of St. Lucia and move down to Florida to get away from her abuser.”

Current state statute allows children 16 and older to get married. However, House Bill 6569, which passed out of the House 98-45 in early May and now awaits final approval from Gov. Ned Lamont, would raise the legal age to marry to 18 without exceptions.

Like Gaston, other lawmakers argued that child marriages trap teenagers in a legally binding contract they’re unable to get out of and often can lead to abuse.




https://ctmirror.org/2023/06/02/ct-child-marriage-age-legal-ban-bill/

MS: 'The funding just isn't there': Yazoo health department reopens two days a week

The Yazoo County Health Department will reopen next week after nearly nine months.

As Mississippi’s health care infrastructure continues to crumble, the reopening could mean more access to health care in Yazoo County.

However, what services will be offered is unclear. The Mississippi State Department of Health’s communications department declined to answer specific questions about the health care services provided at the Yazoo health department, instead directing Mississippi Today to a general list of services offered at county health departments.

Spokespeople did not respond by press time as to whether all of the listed services, which include breast and cervical cancer, domestic violence and rape, and other services for women and mothers, are offered at Yazoo in particular.





https://mississippitoday.org/2023/06/02/yazoo-health-department-reopen/

NJ: Governor Murphy calls on textbook publishers not to censor educational texts

As lawmakers nationwide push to limit the types of books that can be found in schools, Gov. Phil Murphy joined nine other governors to fight censorship of textbooks in a letter released Friday.

Murphy, along with other Democratic governors, called on textbook publishers to “hold the line” and refuse to water down their educational materials at the behest of Republican lawmakers and conservative parents.

“If we are to continue striving for a more perfect union, then we must carry out our duty of ensuring future generations understand our full history as well as the contributions of all its people. That includes learning from our mistakes. These lessons are vital to preparing our youth to fully engage in a free and fair democracy,” the governors wrote in the letter.

They added: “Sanitizing our educational texts for the mercurial comfort of a few today ultimately limits the next generation’s ability to make informed decisions for themselves.”




https://newjerseymonitor.com/briefs/governor-murphy-calls-on-textbook-publishers-not-to-censor-educational-texts/

NC elections board preps for voter ID, braces for more, potentially expensive, requirements

The state Board of Elections voted Friday to expedite the creation of voter photo ID rules to have them ready for upcoming municipal elections.

While they’re preparing to enforce the voter ID law, elections administrators are working to decipher proposed elections changes Senate Republicans filed Thursday.

The state Board voted unanimously to begin adoption of temporary rules for photo ID. After seeing how those rules work, the board can move to make permanent rules, said Board member Stacy “Four” Eggers.

Getting temporary rules approved doesn’t take as long as enacting permanent rules, and elections officials are in a “time crunch” to get rules in place and train poll workers, said Paul Cox, the board’s general counsel.

The first municipal primaries are scheduled for September 12 in Charlotte and Sanford, and absentee voting starts a month before, he said.



https://ncnewsline.com/2023/06/02/nc-elections-board-preps-for-voter-id-while-officials-brace-for-more-potentially-expensive-requirements/