The state legislature has discussed several bills and resolutions regarding firearms this week, reports WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News. HJR0131 would establish: “…the declared public policy of the State of Tennessee relative to the right of the citizens and those within the boundaries of this State to keep, bear and wear arms.” HJR0038 would amend the Tennessee Constitution, removing the part that “authorizes the legislature to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime and to clarify that citizens have a right to keep and bear arms for their defense, and not just for common defense.” HJR0080 would urge the attorney general and reporter to review “any newly passed federal statute, regulation or executive order that may affect the rights of Tennesseans to bear arms.” If passed, it would allow them to sue if found to be an infringement. HB1189 would add protections to manufactures, sellers and dealers of firearms.

Members of the Tennessee Black Caucus are calling on legislative leaders to take action against Rep. Paul Sherrell, R-Sparta, following his remarks at a committee hearing about new execution procedures. The House Criminal Justice Committee was considering a bill to allow for use of the electric chair and firing squads in state executions when Sherrell suggested another option. “Can I put an amendment on that that would include hanging by a tree also?” The comment went viral with some calling on Sherrell to resign and others calling for him to be removed from his committees. Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, chair of the Black Caucus, also said the Republican Caucus should speak up. Yesterday, two days after the comment, Sherrell read an apology during a House session, WPLN reports. Rep. McKenzie said in response, “We lived a 15-generation nightmare in this country … This situation is not over.” WKRN has his comments.

TBA is out with a new Legislative Updates podcast today with TBA Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin. This week they discuss HB318/SB270, the most recent version of Gov. Bill Lee's adoption bill; HB854/SB919 and HB855/SB921, TBA's adoption bills; HB1071/SB1393, TBA's medical records bill; HB40/SB122, legislation prohibiting foreign ownership of real property by nonresident aliens; and HB795/SB283, the "Guns in the Courthouse" bill. Legislative Updates airs each week the legislature is in session on TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The AP reports that Tennessee Republican lawmakers yesterday advanced legislation that would prevent transgender people from changing their driver’s licenses and birth certificates, a move that officials warn could cost the state millions in federal funding. LGBTQ-rights advocates have long argued that having a driver’s license or birth certificate match a person’s identity is not only personally important but also beneficial to avoiding harassment. If enacted, the proposal would define male and female in state law and base people’s legal gender identities on their anatomy at birth. Legislative officials tasked with calculating the fiscal impact of bills have stated that the bill would likely open the state to “civil litigation and could jeopardize federal funding” because it could conflict with federal rules.

The Department of Children’s Services (DCS) commissioner gave an update to the legislature that showed improvements to the troubled system. Margie Quin went before the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee yesterday as part of the department’s budget request. Quin highlighted several ways that DCS has made changes already this year, and how more funding could help it continue that upward trajectory. “We’re not doing all that we want to be able to do,” Quin says. “And we’re here looking for a better solution.” She says one of the biggest victories is that kids are no longer sleeping in office buildings, except for in Shelby County. WPLN has the story.

The Times Free Press reports that around 350 Chattanooga residents demonstrated during a downtown rally in Miller Park Wednesday against bills that would ban public drag performances and transgender medical care for minors. The bills have had wide support in the Republican-dominated legislature and are making their way to Gov. Bill Lee's desk. Lee has supported the bills and said he plans to sign both.

Two people protesting LGBTQ-related legislation were briefly detained during an appearance by Gov. Bill Lee at a grand opening celebration in Memphis, the Commercial Appeal reports. Memphis police confirmed that both John Wilbanks and Brandy Pride were detained and issued misdemeanor citations in lieu of a physical arrest. Wilbanks is charged with disorderly conduct while Pride is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting official detention. Lee was in town for the opening of the Whitehaven YMCA.

A bill to move foreclosure advertisements from newspapers to the secretary of state's website is being pushed by the Tennessee Bankers Association, which says it will save money for homeowners and banks, the Tennessean reports. In opposition are press advocates and publishers, who say the change will financially decimate local newspapers that rely on ad revenue from notices. The Tennessee Press Association says it already pulls foreclosure ads, orders, ordinances, tax claims and other public notices from local papers and places them online. Learn more about SB1324.

A medical cannabis bill introduced by Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, failed on a nearly party-line vote yesterday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Williamson Source reports. The bill, SB1104, would have established a framework for authorizing access to medical cannabis on a regulated basis for patients with qualifying medical conditions. It also would have established a licensing and regulatory process for those cultivating, producing, distributing, transporting, selling, and acquiring cannabis for medical use and research.

Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton said he plans to introduce legislation that would do away with federal funding for the state’s education system, WATE in Knoxville reports. The state receives $1.8 billion in funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The federal money covers many programs within the school systems. “This helps those who are most in need, the low socio-economic students, our students that need it for special ed,” says Tanya T. Coats, President of the Tennessee Education Association. Speaker Sexton said that Tennessee would replace those funds with state tax dollars, citing $3.2 billion in new spending outlined in Gov. Lee’s recent budget proposal as evidence that the state could cover the difference.