(DailyVantage.com) – A Democratic Tennessee lawmaker recently demanded citizens take to the streets and protest after Tennessee Republican state senators approved legislation that prevented city officials from limiting police from performing standard investigative stops. Tennessee’s Democratic lawmakers labeled the Republican-supported legislation as “pro-police” and accused the state’s Republican lawmakers of sponsoring laws that have a disproportionate impact on minorities. Among the state senators arguing against the new legislation is Charlane Oliver, a Democrat from Nashville, who demanded people in her region fight the newly-passed bill.
According to Oliver, the Republican-led bill is racist, and Tennessee residents should take action to prevent it from taking effect. Despite Oliver’s claims, the bill passed with ease due to Tennessee’s Republican majority within the state senate, meaning the bill will take effect in the coming weeks. Brent Taylor, a Republican state senator, introduced the bill in response to a city ordinance in Memphis, which limited the city’s police officers’ ability to perform traffic stops for various reasons.
Memphis’ city officials enacted the ordinance to prevent officers from stopping citizens for various reasons, mainly related to mundane vehicle issues. The ordinance banned investigations into problems related to a car owner’s vehicle registration, mechanical issues like faulty vehicle lights, and non-secured bumpers. Memphis officials passed the new law after the scandal surrounding Tyre Nichols’s death in an effort to prevent similar tragedies in the future. Nichols died after several officers attacked him following a standard traffic stop, creating an international scandal and renewed anti-police legislative efforts.
According to Oliver, the new “pro-police” legislation is an insult to civil rights supporters who advocated for police reform after Nichols’s death. The Tennessee State Senate passed the bill with just six out of 32 votes in opposition, marking a steep decline in support for the anti-police movement within the state. Oliver claims that Taylor introduced the bill in opposition to police reform stemming from Nichols’s death.
Oliver admitted to feeling emotional about the pro-police reform and promised reporters that riots would occur soon. Oliver overtly called for voters to “fight like hell” against the new bill and take to the streets to protest it. Oliver also spoke with reporters about the new legislation and accused Tennessee state senators of intentionally misleading the public about the approved bill’s primary purpose. Despite Oliver’s outspoken opposition to the police stop reform, the new bill will take effect throughout Tennessee in the coming weeks.
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