NASHVILLE – Tennessee Democrats condemned the GOP-run General Assembly Tuesday afternoon for resuming business and moving to approve controversial bills in the wake of deadly tornadoes that swept Nashville and other mid-state communities hours earlier and took at least 22 lives.
State Democratic Party Chairman Mary Mancini condemned Republicans for holding committee hearings on measures she called part of a “Slate of Hate” package of bills.
“Over two dozen Tennesseans pronounced dead, many of whom are children, and many more injured,” Mancini said in a statement. “Hundreds of homes lost and billions of dollars worth of damage. Thousands of Tennesseans are without power. Tennessee is devastated. The state legislature offices closed due to loss of power.”
Mancini charged that “as Tennesseans rally around our neighbors, [Gov.] Bill Lee and the Republican supermajority have decided to resume committee meetings today and push through permitless gun carry and their attack on a woman’s ability to make her own health care decisions.”
She said lawmakers “should stand with Tennessee communities and families in their time of need; instead, Republican legislators are spending their time passing laws to further harm and hurt Tennesseans.”