As proposed, this bill would allow drivers to hit protesters that are blocking the road without the threat of prosecution even if the protestors were to suffer injuries.
A New Tennessee Bill Would Allow Drivers To Legally Hit Protestors Who Are Blocking The Road
By
Michael Avery in
Bizarre
On 28th July 2017
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#1
The goal of this bill is to address the growing problem of protesters who block traffic. Senator Will Keton (R-Murfreesboro) said in a statement while introducing the bill: “We believe that citizens have the right to protest. There is a procedure for peaceful protests and the purpose of that process is to protect the safety of our citizens. Protestors have no right to be in the middle of the road or our highways for their own safety and the safety of the traveling public.”
#2
Rep. Michael Hall (R–Jonesborough) also sponsored the bill and stated: “We are not endorsing anyone running over a person with a car, whether it is protestors or anyone else. If someone intentionally harms a person, they are going to be charged with a crime, period. There is a clear difference, however, between peacefully protesting and lawless rioters in the middle of a public roadway who jeopardize the safety of our families. This is a public safety bill that is meant to protect everyone’s right to peacefully protest and I look forward to seeing this commonsense legislation passed into law.”
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#3
Katherine Smith-Jacobs lives in Chattanooga and was one of the thousands who participated in the Women’s March on Washington. She said: “It’s part of being involved. It’s part of being a citizen."
#4
Smith-Jacobs refers to the bill as discouraging. She said: “Oh you’re protesting so it’s your fault if you get hurt. I feel like that’s the attitude some people would take. And that’s not the direction we want to go in.”
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#5
Others have shared the same concern. Asia Pryer is a member of Concerned Citizens for Justice (CCJ) and regularly attends rallies and protests in Chattanooga. She said: "I think that this is directly harmful to people who are trying to exercise their first amendment right.”
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#6
Mark Williams, the head of the Chattanooga Tea party, says that when he protested with his group they never block traffic. To him, the bill comes down to a matter of law enforcement. He said: “It’s already a violation of the law to obstruct traffic and obstruct highways. When they’re doing that, we shouldn’t have citizens confront citizens. We should have law enforcement confront the violators of the law.”
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#7
The bill came into existence after Metro Nashville Police investigated claims that a man drove his vehicle into protesters blocking his path last month. Lawmakers and protesters alike say that safety is something that needs to be at the very forefront of the bill.
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#8
Smith-Jacobs said: “No one wants lawless rioters in the street. No one wants to see that kind of thing at all.”
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#9
How do you feel about this proposed bill? Are you for or against it?
