Just Say NO to ObamaCare Rally, Wednesday, Dec 5, 12:00 Noon, Tennessee State Captiol

Your help is needed to stop an ObamaCare State Exchange in TN.  From the Nashville Tea Party:

Governor Haslam must make a decision by December 14, and reports indicate he is still undecided.  Please Join Nashville Tea Party and many other groups to raise our voices together and petition the Governor to Just Say NO to an ObamaCare State Exchange.  We will have a petition for you to sign at the Rally.  Please join us.  Here is a map link.  We will rally on the east side of the Tennessee State Capitol Building at 12:oo Noon on Wednesday, December 5.

When ObamaCare becomes the debacle that we believe is inevitable, we cannot allow ourselves to be in the position of taking the blame.  If Republicans become the face of ObamaCare in Tennessee, we will be blamed.  We cannot allow that to happen.  Please do the following:

1. Call Governor Haslam’s office: (615) 741-2001
2. Contact Governor Haslam through his website: http://www.tn.gov/help/.  Under “Choose a Topic”, select “MESSAGE TO GOV. HASLAM,” then type your message.
3. E-mail Governor Haslam at bill.haslam@tn.gov.
4. Attend this rally on December 5.

More from the Cato Institute:

1. ObamaCare is Still Vulnerable
2. ObamaCare: The Road to Repeal Starts in the States
3. No ObamaCare Exchanges

From the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA):

On Friday, May 11, Governor Bill Haslam signed the new Tennessee sex education bill (SB 3310) into law. The bill was initiated in large part due to parental outrage over explicit sex education taught in Nashville schools. The new law sets a standard for other states to follow.  It places a clear priority on sexual risk avoidance abstinence education. The law also puts provisions in place that will prohibit explicit sex education from being implemented in classrooms  – a first for any state. It also empowers parents to protect their children from harmful sex education through their right to pursue legal options should a school ignore the protective provisions of the law.

The sex education bill received broad bipartisan support in the Legislature. Tennessee Legislator, Rep. John DeBerry (D-Memphis) earned an enthusiastic standing ovation for his straight talking defense of the bill which  encourages youth to choose healthy behaviors.

Read the story on “gateway sexual behavior” here.  Be sure to read the entire story.  Opponents tried to lampoon the bill, saying it banned hugging and holding hands, but Rep. DeBerry (D-Memphis) stood up to set the record straight.  Watch Rep. DeBerry’s speech in the Tennessee Legislature here:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRBUL8zV03Q

Apparently, Planned Parenthood has been stripped of its federal funding in Tennessee.  Click here for the story.

Statement by Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey here.

This is a continuation of story here.

From LifeNews.com:

Tennessee Right to Life continues to press Governor Bill Haslam to take steps to yank the taxpayer funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business receives from the state.

***

“As much as 55% of certain Planned Parenthood salaries are funded through contracts with the Tennessee Department of Health, said [Tennessee Right to Life President Brian] Harris. “These same employees  spend at least part of every work day promoting and/or participating in abortions at Planned Parenthood … no tax payer should be forced to subsidize the salary of any organization’s employees that participate in the harming of women and the killing of helpless unborn children.

Full story here.

Background story here.

Gov. Haslam’s statement here.

Apparently, the effort to keep Tennessee from funding the abortion industry is not yet complete.  I don’t really understand the details.  Last week, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and Speaker of the House Beth Harwell issued this press release:

The confusion surrounding the language in the budget regarding Planned Parenthood has been unfortunate. The Office of Legal Services advised House and Senate leadership that it is unconstitutional to amend general law through the appropriations bill (Article II, Section 17), an interpretation which would have put the entire budget document in jeopardy. It was not our intent to allow funding for Planned Parenthood. Our majority in the General Assembly clearly meant to defund them. We are currently working with pro-life activists to resolve this issue with legislation and we will put it to rest immediately upon the legislature’s return in January.

Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey and Speaker Beth Harwell

CBR supporter Danny Bullington wrote Gov. Haslam and received this reply:

June 3, 2011

Dear Danny:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns about Planned Parenthood. Listening to and learning from Tennesseans is very important to me, and I am committed to better understanding your concerns.

I am pro-life. I believe in the sanctity of every human life from the moment of conception. I am committed to protecting our traditional values, especially the rights of the unborn, and as Governor I am working to protect those rights.

No state tax dollars go to Planned Parenthood in the budget passed by the legislature this year. The current issue surrounds federal money passing through the state. I do have a line-item veto to reduce or disapprove a sum of money, but removing legal language – which is at the heart of this matter – would require the budget to be re-approved by the legislature, which has already gone out of session.

I am against tax dollars going to Planned Parenthood, and I am disappointed that the circumstances surrounding the state budget do not allow us to prevent this from happening this year. But I am already working with Lt. Gov. Ramsey and Speaker Harwell to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not go to Planned Parenthood in future budgets.

Again, thank you for contacting my office with your concerns, I look forward to working with you and all Tennesseans to make our state an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.

Warmest regards,
Bill Haslam

So, that’s all I’ve got.  But if you need more, try Google; they’ve got a search motor that’s catching on real big.  (Seriously, I think they’re going to make a go of it!)