Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver threatened the state with riots after the legislature passed a pro-law enforcement bill.
HB1931 states that city governments can not pass ordinances that restrict law enforcement actions that are otherwise legal under state and federal law.
The bill is a response to the so-called “Driving Equality Act” passed by Memphis City Council. This act allows residents to commit city vehicle code violations with impunity. The rationale for this was to reduce the number of Black people stopped by police. Other cities, such as Philadelphia, have done the same thing for the same reason.
The state bill to ban such actions by local municipalities passed the Tennessee House by 68 to 24 and the Senate by 26 to 6.
Oliver represents District 19, which includes parts of Nashville.
In the wake of the murderous nationwide BLM riots of 2020, Black motor vehicle deaths soared across America. This is due to traffic enforcement stand-down all across America.
Here is some of our past documentation of law enforcement stand-downs on enforcing vehicle/traffic laws to reduce the number of Blacks stopped by police:
