1st Amendment has its heroes and threats
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is the first for a reason: It encapsulates the United States of America’s values as a sovereign, free nation that is governed by, but not ruled by, its elected and accountable leaders.
Several of Tennessee’s state leaders recently affirmed their commitment to the five freedoms enumerated in that amendment, including freedom of religion, speech and of the press.
That public endorsement for citizens’ freedoms is essential and gratifying.
Despite that affirmation, there are some efforts by Tennessee lawmakers to seed further discord and division while eroding those rights.
‘Protect what’s really important’
Let’s start with the good news.
At the recent Tennessee Press Association winter conference in Nashville, Gov. Bill Lee offered remarks to attendees and spoke to the press. Top legislative leaders Lt. Gov. Randy Mcnally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton held a joint ask-me-anything session about what was going on in the Tennessee General Assembly.
“To this day, I have an even greater awareness and appreciation for what it is that this organization does but mostly the responsibility that you have to protect what’s really important in this country, and that’s the First Amendment,” Lee said.
Mcnally tweeted: “Every year I look forward to the annual Tennessee Press Association meeting in Nashville. A free press helps inform our citizens and ensures political leaders are held accountable. A cornerstone of a healthy democracy. I greatly appreciate what they do.”
There is not a love affair between these leaders and the press, but there is a respect for democratic practices, institutions and the rights of citizens.
These moves unwise and wrong
Now to the bad news. In this year’s legislative session, there are some pieces of legislation that flout the First Amendment.
Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-jonesborough, proposed, and the judiciary committee passed, a resolution (HJR 779) that would deem the Washington Post and CNN “fake news.”
While Van Huss may think he is doing right by supporters who are angry at these news organizations, he is thumbing his nose at the Tennessee Constitution.
Article I, Section 19 of the Declaration of Rights in the state constitution explicitly protects a free press and adds: “The free communication of thoughts and opinions, is one of the invaluable rights of man and every citizen may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.”
It is unwise and wrong for the government to pick winners and losers in the press.
A separate bill, sponsored by Rep. Andy Holt, R-dresden, and Sen. Paul Bailey, R-sparta (HR 2721/SB 2896), would jail librarians if they defied proposed elected library boards that oversee and approve content children see in libraries to ensure they are not shown “age-inappropriate sexual material.”
The bill is a slap in the face to the most trusted defenders of the First Amendment: librarians.
If it is passed, librarians could be fined $500 and/or imprisoned for defying the board’s rulings. Libraries could lose state funds for violating the law.
Standards could be imposed arbitrarily and capriciously. In addition, it creates a new layer of government when there is already oversight over materials in libraries.
These boards would clash with the ethics policy of the American Library Association, which calls on librarians to defend the First Amendment and to avoid advancing private interests over the needs of library users.
Holt specifically mentioned “drag queen story hours,” but lumping this into sexual material is a stretch and potentially discriminatory.
The Nazis and the Soviet Union famously burned books. Let us never aim to be anything like them.
More open government, please
There are some bright spots.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-portland, and Sen. Mike Bell, Rriceville, have sponsored legislation (HB 2132/SB 2756) to make local government more open.
Government agencies would be required to publicize their meeting agendas as well as offer supplemental material three days before the meeting. Lee and legislative leaders should continue their efforts to increase transparency and revisit the 500-plus exemptions to public records that keep information from being available to the public.
The First Amendment belongs to all citizens, regardless of party affiliation, and we need all our leaders and citizens to uphold and defend it time and again.