By: Sarah Johnson
Will being arrested at a protest cause you to lose your right to vote? The answer in Tennessee is maybe. While have seen a lot of news lately about felons’ right to vote as Florida is currently battling it out to restore voting rights for former felons, it is currently illegal for former felons to vote in Tennessee. Legislation passed in Tennessee the last week in August increases the penalties for certain offenses associated with protesting, making it so residents convicted of one of these offenses would lose their right to vote indefinitely.
Why was this bill proposed?
As we are all well aware, there have been massive protests throughout the United States since May of 2020, sparked by the murder of George Floyd. There is also a legislative movement across the United States to pass anti-protest legislation. Last year, we took a deep dive into legislation like this, mostly related to the protests surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline and “critical infrastructure”.
Some states have passed more “critical infrastructure” bills this year. Louisiana passed HB 197 which the Governor then vetoed. This bill would have amended existing law which already made it a felony to trespass on “critical infrastructure” to also include flood control infrastructure, as well as increase the penalties for trespassing if the state is under an emergency order to up to 15 years. Mississippi passed a bill in June which increases penalties for trespassing or deliberately damaging a variety of energy facilities (like pipelines and refineries). Alabama had a similar critical infrastructure bill which failed, but West Virginia’s bill passed the week they went into lockdown for COVID-19.
This year in Michigan, representative Lynn Afendoulis (R) proposed new legislation that amends the state’s terrorism law to criminalize “social and domestic anarchy”. Violators subject to up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. This bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, where it currently sits. South Dakota passed legislation that revived the state’s “riot boosting” penalties for rioting and inciting a riot, charges sometimes controversially imposed on protesters or organizers of protests. When speaking about the bill South Dakota Governor, Kristi Noem, told reporters she believes the bill protects free speech and would be used against people who fund demonstrations “only if they’re involved in those protests.”
For the past three months in Nashville, mostly peaceful protesters have been demonstrating and occupying the Ida B. Wells Plaza in front of the Capitol. This plaza is state-owned and the group occupying the area says they will leave as soon as Tennessee Governor Bill Lee meets with them or the bust of Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest is removed by state legislature from the Capitol building. According to the Associated Press, protesters set fires inside and outside a courthouse and knocked down a statue of Edward Carmack (widely criticized for his racist views) in late May, but these have been the only reported crimes in the area related to protesting.
What does the new TN law say?
The new law, TN SB8005, revises Tennessee laws concerning vandalism, assault, disorderly conduct, rioting, obstructing of traffic, camping on state property, and some other offenses. The changes laid out in this bill will go into effect on October 1.
One of the most controversial things the new law does is increase the punishment for illegal camping on state property from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony, punishable by up to six years in jail in Tennessee. Many of us can draw a line from “illegal camping on state property” to protesters occupying capitals or other public spaces. In order to be charged with this offense, people must receive notice from an official that camping where they are is prohibited and then after the warning continue camping on the state property. Further, the bill increases fines for obstructing highways, a common tactic used while protesting.
When it comes to charging protesters with theft for markings on state buildings, the bill makes it easier to charge people and institutes a mandatory $5,000 fine on the second offense. The bill states that if it’s in “a temporary or permanent manner”, they can be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor (“temporary” means markings like chalk could be criminal).
The bill also makes some changes related to first responders. The bill defines a “first responder” and the conditions under which a person commits assault against a first responder. It goes on to detail the penalties for violations of that section of the law, which range from a Class A misdemeanor, a $5,000 fine, and minimum mandatory sentence of 30 days incarceration up to a Class C felony, a fine of $15,000, and a minimum mandatory sentence of 90 days incarceration. One of the assaults is explained as a person “knowingly causes physical contact with a first responder and a reasonable person would regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative, including, but not limited to, spitting, throwing, or otherwise transferring bodily fluids, bodily pathogens, or human waste onto the person of a first responder.”
People arrested for allegedly camping on state property, damaging state property, or conducting other protests (like interrupting meetings) “shall not be released within twelve (12) hours of the time of arrest”. This means they are sentenced to mandatory time in jail. Earlier this summer we covered Nebraska’s overcrowding crisis and looked at a New Jersey bill aimed at releasing more people from jail, looking at some of the dangers inmates face in the time of COVID.
Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, had this to say about the legislation
The racial motivation underlying this law is undeniable. This is a direct response to the Black Lives Matter movement and to those who are resolutely opposed to racial injustice and police violence. To criminalize protest activity and disenfranchise voters on top of it defies principles that lie at the heart of our democracy. This is abuse of state power intended to silence voices of dissent from the streets to the ballot box. Tennessee has worked hard to make it more challenging for voters to participate during the pandemic and this is one further step in their ongoing effort to lock out certain voters this season
There are many, many issues with this bill. First, it further punishes the unhoused. Second, it appears to directly attack protesters, restraining free speech. This law directly targets protesters, taking away their right to vote if convicted of any of these harsher crimes, which I find preposterous, creating felons from people who just want to have their voice heard. Finally, mandating time spent in jail while we as a nation continue to grapple with a pandemic does not seem like a good option in my opinion. I am sorry to see these kinds of policies getting passed to punish protesting instead of policies to address the injustices causing the protests in the first place.
Cover Photo by Sushil Nash on Unsplash
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