Tennessee State Senator John Stevens, whose big two hobbies are defending the legacy of Nathan Bedford Forrest and trying to deny the human rights of the LGBTQ community.
It was in both 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Tennessee State Senator John Stevens, who shortly after South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from their state capitol, was dismayed to hear a small minority of Democrats in the Tennessee state legislature then begin debating whether or not the state should change the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park, named after the Confederate general who went on to be the founder of the Ku Klux Klan. Stevens went ballistic, and said it would lead to a slippery slope that would lead to people acting like ISIS, saying, “I’m certainly not going to defend Gen. Forrest. I just think it’s a slippery slope when you start changing names and taking down statues. What separates us from ISIS? Because that’s what they do, they go around and tear down history in those nations that they’ve conquered. If that’s what America is about now, then it concerns me.”
Alright, let’s unpack that a little, just for giggles. Comparing any dissenting opinion to the worst of humanity, be it ISIS, Nazis, or terrorists of whatever kind… is just terrible discourse in that whole Godwinn’s law vein. But that’s not even quite correct, in any aspect. ISIS destroys historical landmarks of religious significance, as part of their radically perverted views of Islam. So for anyone to be attacking Nathan Bedford Forrest, he would have to be held as some sort of figure of revered spiritual significance. Unless Stevens was saying he felt Bedford was that sort of icon…
Anyway, John Stevens has been involved in some of the most ridiculous legislation to come out of Tennessee the past several years, including voting to bring back the electric chair as a method of execution, voting for TRAP laws to try and shut down every abortion clinic in the state, voting for a highly unconstitutional measure to make the Bible the state book, trying to block Syrian refugees from being resettled in the state, and voting to allow for firearms to be carried in parks around the state.
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In his second term in office, Stevens continued wasting time and money on quests that are… well, of a bigoted nature. In March of 2017, he became one of a few Tennessee State legislators to file a lawsuit against the federal government, trying to use the Tenth Amendment and claim “State’s Rights” like Republicans do… because they’re upset that the state will have to resettle Syrian refugees. In August of 2017, he tried to re-write language in state marriage law to better gain footing to attack the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, and not recognize same sex marriages. Just in January of 2020 he tried supporting “religious freedom” legislation that would allow adoption agencies to deny adoptive rights to same sex couples based on their ”religious beliefs”.
John Stevens was regrettably re-elected in the 2020 elections, and has used his new lease on legislative life to vote for a bill to prohibit the use of Covid-19 vaccination passports, and vote for both of the Tennessee GOP’s transphobic bills, to both ban transgender athletes from playing against their biological sex, and should there be events where it’s irrelevant, banning transgender student athletes from locker rooms.
In other words, he’s still focused on legislative bigotry, going into his third term now.
One Year Ago, May 31st, 2020: John Stevens (TN)… 2020 Update
Two Years Ago, May 31st, 2019: John Stevens (TN)… 2019 Update
Three Years Ago, May 31st, 2018: John Stevens (TN)… 2018 Update
Four Years Ago, May 31st, 2017: John Stevens (TN)… 2017 Update
Five Years Ago, May 31st, 2016: John Stevens (TN)… Original Profile
Six Years Ago, May 31st, 2015: Chris Simcox (AZ)
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