Tennessee State Director shares inside scoop about fight for parental rights in Tennessee

The grassroots have never been shy about advocacy. Activism is their specialty — their métier and secret weapon.

But what happens when a state passes the Convention of States application? Does the need for advocacy in that state expire? Does the team dissolve?

Far from it.

To the contrary, many “passed” states have continued to grow, refocusing their efforts on other issues relevant to liberty and justice in America. Tennessee, for example, passed the COS resolution in 2016. Since then, however, the team has continued to build upon its influence in the state legislature, which it now wields to promote self-governance, freedom, and other American values.

This year, the team is focusing on a crucial parental rights bill, House Bill 2936. According to the bill summary, this piece of legislation, which COS activists refer to as an “F3” (Federalism, Freedom, and Fundamental Rights) issue, “provides that the liberty of a parent to the care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of the child, is a fundamental right.”

“HB 2936 is designed to prevent the state from coming between a parent and child in matters that are a parent’s fundamental right,” Tennessee State Director John Taylor explained to his grassroots team in an email.

“I hate the fact that we have to codify rights that should be natural rights for parents,” Mr. Taylor told me. “But this is a step to say, look, we’re calling attention to those rights which we think are natural, God-given rights that we want protected.” Moreover, he said, these efforts help boost self-governance in the state by encouraging concerned citizens to stay engaged in the legislative process.

“It’s all [contributing to] the mission of Convention of States,” described Taylor, “which is to build the biggest army of self-governing activists that this nation has ever seen.” He added that watching the process unfold is “heartening.”

Currently, House Bill 2936, which passed the Senate last month and the House Civil Justice Committee last week, is slated for a vote before the full House on Thursday, April 11. Regardless of how the representatives vote tomorrow, Taylor is confident that the presence of the COS team will make a significant impact, recognizing that their activism has been instrumental in advancing the bill to this stage. His advice to other teams sponsoring F3 bills is to support each other, focus on team-building, depend on a “Higher Power,” and “pick and choose [their] battles so that [they] can see success.”

And, of course, never give up on advocacy.

“Actively engaging at all levels of government is what keeps our Republic in check,” the Tennessee leader encouraged his team. “We were asleep at the wheel for a while, but our citizen activists awakened!”

To learn how you can make a difference in your state through the Convention of States movement, sign the petition below. To follow HB 2936’s progression through the legislature, visit capitol.tn.gov.