Tennessee
Tennessee governor signs bill penalizing adults who help minors get abortions
Tennessee’s governor has approved legislation designed to block adults from helping minors get an abortion or receive gender-affirming care without parental consent, proposals that are both likely to face immediate legal challenges when they go into effect later this year.
The Republican governor, Bill Lee, quietly signed the bills on Tuesday without comment. However, the governor’s actions were not unexpected. During his time in office, Lee has enacted sweeping restrictions on gender-affirming care for young people and has defended Tennessee’s near total ban on abortion while stressing his opposition to the procedure.
Both laws go into effect on 1 July.
Lee’s actions mean Tennessee will soon become the second state in the nation to enact legislation that supporters say will stop any adult who “intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports” a pregnant minor within the state to get an abortion without consent from the minor’s parents or guardians.
Ambulance drivers, emergency medical services personnel and other common transportation services are exempt under the law.
Those convicted of breaking the law would be charged with a class A misdemeanor, which requires a nearly one year imprisonment sentence.
“Parents have a right to be involved with their daughters’ wellbeing. The abortion industry has no right to keep parents in the dark at a time when their daughters are so vulnerable and could possibly be in danger,” said Stacy Dunn, Tennessee Right to Life’s president, in a statement.
Meanwhile, Tennessee is so far the first state to pursue penalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care without parental consent.
The bill mirrors almost the same language from a so-called anti-abortion trafficking proposal, where violations could range from talking to an adolescent about a website on which to find care to helping that young person travel to another state with looser restrictions on gender-affirming care services.
Last year, Idaho became the first state to enact the so-called “abortion trafficking” law, but a federal judge has since temporarily blocked the law after reproductive rights groups sued to challenge it.
The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Lee earlier this month warning that “there is nothing” in the statute that “suggests a court will look more favorably on its content-based criminalization of speech and expression” as they described the bill as “unconstitutionally vague”.
At the same time, the Planned Parenthood CEO, Ashley Coffield, told reporters that her organization was in “consultation with our lawyers about how to comply with the law if we need to comply with it or whether we can challenge the law”.
The Tennessee version does not contain exemptions for minors who may have been raped by their parents or guardians. Instead, the new statute says that the biological father of the pregnant minor may not pursue a civil action if the pregnancy was caused by rape.
Like Idaho, Tennessee bans abortions at all stages of pregnancy but there are exemptions in cases of molar pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies, and to remove a miscarriage or to save the life of the mother.
LaFollette fireworks disaster killed four in 1997
A shipping container storing fireworks exploded in LaFollette in June 1997.
Watching fireworks light up the sky with dazzling colors and configurations is such a thrill, we often forget that making those shows happen requires literally playing with fire.
Here in East Tennessee, we’ve had our share of fireworks disasters.
The smallest mistake can set off a monster chain reaction. It’s the tragic side of a favorite pastime that’s claimed lives and livelihoods through the years.
Benton fireworks factory explodes
Windows shattered and photos fell from the walls in nearby houses when an explosion destroyed an illegal fireworks factory in Benton in 1983. The boom was heard as far away as Cleveland, about 15 miles away, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported May 27, 1983.
Eleven people died in the explosion.
“It’s the worst thing I’ve seen since Vietnam,” Polk County Sheriff Frank Payne said at the time. “What happened was like a direct hit by a 500-pound bomb.”
The operation fronted as Webb’s Bait Farm, but really, illegal M-100 and M-80 fireworks were being produced at the site, the News-Sentinel reported. A month later, federal investigators called it the largest illegal fireworks factory ever identified in the U.S.
Owner Dan Webb, whose mother, brother and uncle were among those killed in the explosion, was sentenced in 1984 to 10 years in prison for manufacturing explosives without a license.
Pyro Shows depot blast kills four
A shipping container full of fireworks exploded at a popular pyrotechnics company’s storage facility in LaFollette June 5, 1997.
“At first, I thought it was an airplane crash. It rumbled five or 10 seconds, and then there was a massive explosion,” Campbell County Sheriff Ron McClellan told the News-Sentinel afterward.
The disaster at the Pyro Shows depot damaged nearby homes and businesses, along with a church. Four people were killed, all employees: engaged high school sweethearts Tim Petree and Allison Hale; Gretchen Wells, who, along with Hale, had been on the job for less than a week; and Luther Seiber, Caryville vice mayor and city councilman.
They had been getting fireworks ready and loading them for use at the upcoming July 4 shows.
Federal agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ruled out negligence by Pyro Shows.
Through the years, Pyro Shows has had a hand in Boomsday – once a Knoxville Labor Day tradition – as well as fireworks at Smokies and University of Tennessee games.
Stowers Superstore goes up in flames
When a fire began at Stowers Superstore on July 6, 2014, fireworks began to shoot off from the site. Nearby Interstate 75 was closed in both directions as the explosives launched unpredictably.
Four or five people were in the Caryville store but managed to get out safely. The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported on July 8 that “the building apparently was constructed before current fire codes required sprinkler systems.”
The store was a total loss, with crews delayed by Fourth of July traffic. Fireworks were already shooting off and the entire building was ablaze when the firefighters arrived. In total, 65 firefighters from Campbell, Scott and Anderson counties fought the fire for around three hours.
Although the store was destroyed, its “attractions,” including a rocket, Ferris wheel and castle, remained on the lot, still visible from the highway.
Hayden Dunbar Evans is the storyteller reporter. Email: hayden.dunbar@knoxnews.com. Instagram: @knoxstoryteller.
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MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn. (WCYB) — As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, weeks of community support and volunteer effort helped bring a historic project to Johnson County.
County leaders dedicated Tennessee’s first Charters of Freedom display on Thursday at Ralph Stout Park in Mountain City. The permanent exhibit features replicas of some of the nation’s most important founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the four pages of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The display was provided at no cost because it is the first Charters of Freedom installation in Tennessee.
For leaders with the Mountain City Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the project began as a way to mark America’s 250th anniversary but became something they hope will serve future generations.
“About four years ago, the VFW started sponsoring the Independence Day parade because nobody else was,” Mountain City Former VFW Commander Daniel Parsons said. “Every year we’ve built on it and made it bigger and better. Last year we said, ‘For America’s 250th, let’s leave something here for future generations.’”
After contacting Foundation Forward in North Carolina, Parsons said he wasn’t sure when the display might become available. Then, about six weeks ago, he received word that the foundation could have it ready in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.
“It went from a dream to reality in just under six weeks,” Parsons said. “Local volunteers, masons and businesses all stepped up. It really came together fast.”
The Charters of Freedom project began about 15 years ago after the founders of Foundation Forward visited the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and wanted to give other communities the opportunity to experience those same historic documents.
“They wanted to bring that same experience back to their hometown,” a Foundation Forward Director Michael Unruh said. “What was supposed to be one display has now grown across the country.”
There are now 79 Charters of Freedom displays across 19 states. The Mountain City installation is the first in Tennessee.
Parsons said the exhibit was donated because it is Tennessee’s first.
“Because this is the very first Charters of Freedom in Tennessee, it was provided at no cost to the county or taxpayers,” Parsons said. “The foundation simply asked us to help pay it forward.”
Organizers said the display is intended to give more people the opportunity to see the nation’s founding documents, especially as fewer students have the chance to visit Washington, D.C.
“The farther you get from Washington, the fewer people get to see these documents in person,” Unruh said. “That’s the experience we’re trying to bring to communities like this one.”
The dedication ceremony drew visitors from across the country, including members of Parsons’ family.
“This is a great thing. This is absolutely beyond I expected. I am so happy. I almost cried with him when he choked up there in his speech,” said Daniel Parson’s sister, Norma Parsons McPherson.
Leaders also announced plans to bury a time capsule to commemorate the occasion.
“This is such a beautiful thing for our county,” Johnson County resident Buffy Cornett said. “I love my county that I live in, and I love our country. I’m so thankful for my freedom today. I have family that are Veterans and it’s all about them because of our freedom. “
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A First Alert Weather Day remains in effect through Sunday.
FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAY – THROUGH SUNDAY
The Extreme Heat Warning is still in effect for most of Middle Tennessee, all of southern Kentucky, and all of West Tennessee until 8 p.m. Friday because the dangerous levels of heat and humidity continue.
A Heat Advisory is in effect for the Cumberland Plateau until Friday at 8 p.m.
High temperatures today will be in the mid to upper 90s, with a heat index between 105°-110° across most of the area. High elevations in the Plateau could keep that heat index around 100°.
Keep an eye on the sky for a pop-up shower or thunderstorm during the heat of the day. Not everyone will see rain, but any storm could produce heavy rain and perhaps a brief strong wind gust as well.
Dangerous heat and humidity will continue Friday and this weekend. High temperatures will be closer to the mid 90s with a heat index still over 100° each afternoon.
Spotty showers and thunderstorms will develop during the afternoon and evening on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The main focus around storms will continue to be bursts of heavy rainfall, but there’s a slight risk we’ll have sudden strong gusts of wind with any of the storms.
Remain weather aware. If a storm comes your way and you’re outdoors, get inside quickly. Remember – when thunder roars, go indoors.
NEXT WEEK
The worst of the heat and humidity will back off Monday-Wednesday, but temperatures will still stay in the low to mid 90s with a heat index in the upper 90s to near 100.
More chances for daytime heating showers and storms through the first half of next week.
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