Gary Humble | Executive Director
As I’ve led the effort at Tennessee Stands for over four years, I have had no less than ten people tell me in person that they’ve moved their families to Tennessee because of our organization. And I have been told that there are many more. That reality is both humbling and quite weighty at the same time.
The story typically goes that they began looking to relocate to another state to escape the tyranny they were experiencing in places like California, Chicago, or New York. In their search, they came across Tennessee Stands and began following our work, subscribed to our newsletters, watched our videos, and followed our efforts. They say that seeing the fight we are putting up here in our state and the continued vigilance of holding elected officials accountable to conservative values gave them the confidence that Tennessee was the right move for their families.
There is a saying around these parts. It goes something like, “Don’t California, my Tennessee!” And believe me, I fully subscribe to that mantra. But I have personally shaken hands with hundreds of Californians (maybe thousands) who have relocated to Tennessee as political refugees, and let me attest, they are fighters. They know what it’s like to lose something. And that experience gives conservatives here in Tennessee some much-needed perspective. We are not safe.
Preserving liberty in our state will require continued commitment and resolve to engage politically, push the conservative agenda, and fight against government overreach. It is an honor to have the privilege of running this organization and fighting with you. And I won’t give an inch.
Your participation is why our mission to restore constitutionally conservative values is growing, and our message is increasing! You are making a difference!
Together, we achieved some incredible milestones this year. Here are a few highlights.
- Through our advocacy portal, Tennesseans sent over 650,000 messages to the General Assembly on over 200 legislative initiatives during the 113th General Assembly. With increased teams, we went from advocating for 36 bills during the 112th General Assembly to over 200 bills in the 113th General Assembly, a 456% increase in our advocacy work. This is a huge success!
- We have continued to expand the functionality of the Tennessee Legislative Report Card (tnreportcard.org) to now include a full campaign finance report for all 132 state legislators and the ability to archive the voting scores by year, meaning you can track your state representative’s voting habits year by year. One of our most impressive tools!
- We can now officially say that together, we have defeated a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the state to own private corporations, beat a bill that would have set regulations for any future digital currency, and fought against red flag laws that threatened our right to bear arms—and we won!
- We fought and succeeded in protecting homeschoolers’ rights and private property rights, helping to expand religious liberty for foster parents regarding vaccination requirements, and supporting efforts to push back against federal overreach. These are the reasons why we are in the fight, and we have succeeded.
This year has been a success, and while there is much more work to be done, I share this as an example of how we all play a role in securing liberty in our state.
With partners like you willing to fund this effort, we will continue making strides to secure Tennessee.
We thank you for taking a stand and for considering a year-end gift. Every dollar counts in the fight for freedom in our state! This is where the corruption and the left succeed.
We humbly ask for your partnership to ensure we succeed as much as we did this year and more. Please consider making your very best year-end gift.
Tell your friends and family about our work and ask them to subscribe. The more people we are connected to, the more Tennesseans we can serve by educating and activating citizens to engage in self-governance.
In addition to a one-time gift, please consider a monthly recurring donation.
Thank you for your consideration and support in the fight for freedom in Tennessee. We are honored to be working alongside you!
