Speaker Pro Tempore Judd Matheney takes over as Chariman of Firearms Issue Task Force

[Worriedman]

McCormick: House GOP firearms task force to continue | timesfreepress.com

Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, said he decided the group, which is looking at expansion of Tennessee’s handgun-carry permit laws, would go on after House Speaker Pro Tempore Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, who is the panel’s vice chair, voiced interest in taking over as chairman.

“I just decided to keep it going,†said McCormick, who weighed over the weekend whether to disband the panel in order to focus more on job-related issues. “I still say it’s not going to be a top legislative priority by any means.â€

Seems obvious which of these two Legislators considers firearms issues as important, and which one does not.

Edited October 18, 2011 by Worriedman

[quietguy]

Seems obvious which of these two Legislators considers firearms issues as important, and which one does not.

Well, the purpose of the committee wasn't really to expand rights, but was really to be a "filter" for gun related legislation.

[Worriedman]

From McCormick's original statements relative to the purpose of said Task Force:

“This Task Force will study ways we can protect the Second Amendment rights of Tennesseans and will make recommendations to our Majority about good public policy we all can support,” said Majority Leader Gerald McCormick said in a statement announcing the move. (creation of the Task Force) “I think this is a worthwhile effort to streamline the process and build consensus within the General Assembly.”

[quietguy]

about good public policy we all can support,

This is the critical phrase. If you look at the last legislative session, there were a lot of duplicate bills filed. The goal of the committee was to eliminate the redundant bills and create an agenda that would pass both houses and be signed by the Governor.

[Worriedman]

My view of the last Legislative session was that the only Bill that received even cursory consideration was beat down by those who were bought and paid for by Fed Ex. Josh Evans was co-opted to gut his Parking Lot Bill, and nothing else even made it out of committee.

If Evan's Bill had been allowed on the floor for consideration it would have passed, and the Senate would have passed it as well. The Governor, while no friend of gun owners, would have signed it into law so as to put off the need to be overridden.

Money talked and our ability to get anything done legislation wise walked as a very moderate/liberal leadership decided to throw firearms issues under the bus.

We saw no hesitation as the General Assembly passed with lightning speed the ability to let businesses directly fund legislators and their election campaigns, the need to gain the cash for re-election showing far more momentum in both houses than any other issue.

Edited October 18, 2011 by Worriedman

[enfield]

We got NOTHING in the last legislative session. Time for some new legislators.

[Guest PapaB]

How do you get better legislators when good ones don't run in the areas they're needed? Nothing from the last session indicated Republicans were in the majority. If this committee were going to benefit us, they would have been fine tuning specific legislation already. The fact that they haven't even met tells me they're just a placebo.

[JayC]

How do you get better legislators when good ones don't run in the areas they're needed? Nothing from the last session indicated Republicans were in the majority. If this committee were going to benefit us, they would have been fine tuning specific legislation already. The fact that they haven't even met tells me they're just a placebo.

Anybody who voted for Harwell as speaker needs to go this time... which means all of the Republicans... We need a strong real conservative not some RINO in the speakers seat.

[BimmerFreak]

Judd is great people, and I know he will work very hard to preserve and increase firearm freedoms here in TN.

[Worriedman]

Judd is great people, and I know he will work very hard to preserve and increase firearm freedoms here in TN.

I concur 100%, but will the rest of Leadership support him in any way?

[Worriedman]

Anybody who voted for Harwell as speaker needs to go this time... which means all of the Republicans... We need a strong real conservative not some RINO in the speakers seat.

Harwell won by a very small majority, (it only takes one over 50%) in the Caucus election for Speaker, so it is not all of them that can be painted with that brush, but enough that we wound up with the result.

[quietguy]

Anybody who voted for Harwell as speaker needs to go this time... which means all of the Republicans... We need a strong real conservative not some RINO in the speakers seat.

You do understand how ignorant the RINO designation is, don't you? By this standard, Reagan and Nixon would be flaming liberals. Who do you hold up as a true Republican?

Do I wish that Beth was a little more conservative? Absolutely. Do I wish she was more supportive of my 2nd Amendment rights? Absolutely. But, if she was any more conservative, her seat would probably be occupied be a Democrat.

[Worriedman]

Do I wish that Beth was a little more conservative? Absolutely. Do I wish she was more supportive of my 2nd Amendment rights? Absolutely. But, if she was any more conservative, her seat would probably be occupied be a Democrat.

No Democrat had a chance of being Speaker this year, so that seat could not have been occupied by anything other than a Republican.

Perhaps you mean her district seat, seeded as it is with less than Conservative constituents, and if she showed less Liberal tendencies possibly a Democrat would have won her seat.

The fact is, in her last six votes related to the issue, she has proven herself to be against the interest of those who advocate to broaden the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, batting 1000. She is an Alexander devotee and we all know where his stance is.

Every Republican chants the mantra that they support the 2nd Amendment, but by their actions rather than their words they seem to hold it up less by their deeds than by their rhetoric, if last year's session is to be the metric we gauge them by. Some actually do support it (and to those I am grateful), but there are those of the opposing party that do as well, the Republicans do not own that.

Edited October 19, 2011 by Worriedman

[Guest ArmyVeteran37214]

I didn't expect much to happen last session due to the hoopla over the last couple years. Hopefully they will get the lead out and continue to expand 2A rights in the near future.

[quietguy]

No Democrat had a chance of being Speaker this year, so that seat could not have been occupied by anything other than a Republican.

Perhaps you mean her district seat, seeded as it is with less than Conservative constituents, and if she showed less Liberal tendencies possibly a Democrat would have won her seat.

Yes, I was speaking of her seat, not her being Speaker. The story of how she was elected Speaker is a lot more interesting.

The fact is, in her last six votes related to the issue, she has proven herself to be against the interest of those who advocate to broaden the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, batting 1000. She is an Alexander devotee and we all know where his stance is.

Every Republican chants the mantra that they support the 2nd Amendment, but by their actions rather than their words they seem to hold it up less by their deeds than by their rhetoric, if last year's session is to be the metric we gauge them by. Some actually do support it (and to those I am grateful), but there are those of the opposing party that do as well, the Republicans do not own that.

I agree with you. I wish more voters would work to ensure that the people they elect are of high moral character and represented their views. How people can continue to elect some of these clowns is beyond me. My rep in the House is among the bad guys.

I just think it is asinine to call someone a RINO if they are not on the far right-wing side of the party. I say that someone who is about as conservative as they come on fiscal and constitutional issues.

[JayC]

You do understand how ignorant the RINO designation is, don't you? By this standard, Reagan and Nixon would be flaming liberals. Who do you hold up as a true Republican?

Do I wish that Beth was a little more conservative? Absolutely. Do I wish she was more supportive of my 2nd Amendment rights? Absolutely. But, if she was any more conservative, her seat would probably be occupied be a Democrat.

Have you read through the legislation she has introduced and voted for over the past 4 years? We'd be better off with a Democrat in that seat, at least it wouldn't confuse people who the enemy is

Harwell doesn't support the state of Federal Constitution, her votes have repeatedly shown that fact... She needs to go, and if it costs us the seat in the process, better that than to re-elect her.

And for the record, I'm not in the far right wing of the party I just know she lied to my face about her support for certain bills, and I've made the promise every time I see her name online, it's to remind people she can't be trusted and needs to go, even if we loose the seat in the process.

Edited October 19, 2011 by JayC

[quietguy]

Have you read through the legislation she has introduced and voted for over the past 4 years? We'd be better off with a Democrat in that seat, at least it wouldn't confuse people who the enemy is

Harwell doesn't support the state of Federal Constitution, her votes have repeatedly shown that fact... She needs to go, and if it costs us the seat in the process, better that than to re-elect her.

And for the record, I'm not in the far right wing of the party I just know she lied to my face about her support for certain bills, and I've made the promise every time I see her name online, it's to remind people she can't be trusted and needs to go, even if we loose the seat in the process.

Your experience is counter to mine.

[Worriedman]

I think the issue we need to be cognizant of is the fact that Matheny is doing all he can to manage the bad press generated by the Todd issue, and has been somewhat successful in that endeavor, proven by the fact that "Task Force" was not swept away as a result.

Leadership has been restrained from casting us aside, and I think that is due primarily to the Speaker Pro Tempore's focus to keep this discussion ongoing.

We are all aware of how the press and those who would see us set back in our struggle to regain the Constitutionally guaranteed Right to keep and bear arms here in Tennessee are circled like a group of vultures about the specter of "bubbaism" embodied by the Todd debacle. That the Speaker's office has decided to let Matheny continue on with the Task Force is a sign that we may have an actual opportunity to further our cause even in the face of Todd's actions. If in fact the Task Force continues on to fruition, it would be a glimmer of a Phoenix rising out of the damage done, and could possibly herald a real endeavor of Leadership to have a discussion of the merits of the issues within the structure of the Task Force as originally intended.

Edited October 21, 2011 by Worriedman

[gregintenn]

You do understand how ignorant the RINO designation is, don't you? By this standard, Reagan and Nixon would be flaming liberals. Who do you hold up as a true Republican?

Do I wish that Beth was a little more conservative? Absolutely. Do I wish she was more supportive of my 2nd Amendment rights? Absolutely. But, if she was any more conservative, her seat would probably be occupied be a Democrat.

And how would that be any worse?

[quietguy]

And how would that be any worse?

Gary Odom and Mary Pruitt

[Worriedman]

Matheny is doing his best to support our issues, and appears to have made some inroads with the Speaker's office. If in fact one is inclined to be in favor of the Task Force's originally specified intent, now is the time to support that approach.

Contacting the members of the Task Force, as well as your individual Representative asking them to move forward with a review of the current laws with respect to their Constitutionality would be an excellent idea. Our General Assembly will only react if there is support from the electorate. It is ours to win or lose at this point.

We have a chance to affect the legislation of the next session in a positive way, IF we can underpin the Speaker Pro Tempore's efforts on our behalf.