Please, veto SB8005 and protect the rights of protesters.

This bill goes way too far and adds felonies for convictions. People should not be targeted and lose their voting rights for protesting and calling for justice.

State government should be listening to the voices of protesters and constructively engaging the issues that they raise.

The cost is estimated to be over $1 Million in the first year for state and local governments, to say nothing of the cost of lawsuits challenging the bill. We should have allocated that money to programs like personal protective equipment for our schools.

This bill represents everything wrong about state government's priorities. During a global pandemic and urgent conversations about racism, this bill curtails rights and does nothing to solve our problems.

Please, take a step back and do what is right for Tennessee and veto this bill.