Islamophobia and isolationism aren’t just alive and well in the presidential race. They are consuming the Tennessee General Assembly.
Volunteer State senators on Monday overwhelmingly approved a resolution directing Attorney General Herbert Slatery to sue the U.S. government over the federal refugee program. And if Slatery persists in his tepid disinterest in wasting Tennessee tax dollars to do so, the Senate bill also allows lawmakers to hire their own attorney to file suit without him.
Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey’s controversial measure passed 27-5 with only one GOP lawmaker voting no (not one of ours) and just one Democrat voting for it. The bill now goes to the House for consideration. If approved, Tennessee would join Alabama and Texas in suing the federal government over the issue.
The action comes in the same week that national news sources are reporting that more than 100,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe in the first two months of this year – more than eight times the rate seen during the same period in 2015.
But Tennessee senators are turning their backs on the desperation that drives mothers and fathers to carry their young children thousands of miles in hopes of survival. Instead, our so-called leaders are fear mongering both on the grounds of safety and money.