[...] Parental Permission Required for Toy Guns in Tennessee – Terry Frank [...]

By Saturday Afternoon (in the morning) Not Even Close to Laundry - Short Version , An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings on 05.17.08 10:26 am

Good point Terry. It’s amazing how the left will propose bills such as this one but fight to keep parental notification off the table when it comes to abortions for 12 year-olds.

I guess they’re trying to ensure than no 11 year-old takes a fake gun to a sex-ed class in elementary school. THAT would be dangerous.

By Ty on 05.17.08 11:12 am

I recently retired and have more time than most people to see what is going on down there and it is utterly impossible to figure out the jargon like “placed behind the budget” and other things that are going on. I thought watching videos of the proceedings make it easier to figure out what is going on but a lot of conversations that take place allude to previous conversations somewhere in the hallway.

I think they ought to at least have a consistent content policy where bills like the technical corrections bill could not be shot gunned and come out of the same barrel.
Good legislation plus bad legislation is equal to mediocre legislation.

It is also maddening to see them settle on language that is deliberately vague and open to interpretation by the courts. In particular I am talking about the so-called eminent domain protection legislation. Nothing stops a government from taking property legally for an industrial park and later converting it to anything they want to.

While I am ranting, I also am shocked at the flippant way that fiscal reports are compiled. The whole system gives the impression that it is ok to spend the money now if you seem to have it now and we will worry about the details, like stagflation, inflation, and changed economic behavior later. Too many of these documents are claiming “no significant impact” which means there is no significant impact to the legislature or no significant impact if the money keeps coming in at the current or past rate. This is an insult to government workers who have to monitor these laws with no alleged impact. Nobody takes the time to discount or consider the time value of money in the yearly cost of a program, especially if it is highway work that has an unusually high inflation factor.

We need a taxpayers office of the Comptroller General not a Governors Office of the Comptroller General. I think they ought to pass maybe ten bills a year and go home. Put all of that memorial highway stuff in one bill and be done with it.

Sometimes I wonder if these people even take the time to read the law that pertains to their committee. I recently heard some Senator ask what the state gas tax was. Eventually a LOBBYIST had add to the presentation of a TDOT official to get the complete picture of what the tax was and how the Special Petroleum Tax was distributed!
We need some kind of Gateway Exam for our Legislators.

By Danny L. Newton on 05.17.08 1:55 pm

One of the major problems with the bill is that the way it was presented orally did not match up with the language in the bill. When the sponsor was asked about the actual language he kept retreating to the fact that a young person was tragically shot down because he had a look alike fake gun.

What this bill will do is make stores quit selling toy guns, including cap guns and squirt guns.

There is also a provision that using one of these guns in a threatening manner is a crime. One could argue that neighborhood kids would be in violation if they play “Army”.

By Rep. Bill Dunn on 05.17.08 7:31 pm

Any possibility of getting the “thumb and pointer finger” gun configuration outlawed as well ? Many businesses have been robbed by individuals faking a real gun in their coat pockets with the thumb-and-pointer manuever. How long must we endure the threat of the thumb-and-pointer? Gotta run, American Idol is on and my Tivo is busy recording Desperate Housewives.

By Malcolm Tent on 05.18.08 3:58 am

Good point, Ty. And Danny, Gateway exam for legislators? You know, I worked there in college and I talk with legislators quite often.

We’ve got several very bright folks down there. Then we have several bright legislators with no spine. And then there are the smart legislators with no moral compass.

And then there are the really pathetic, stupid ones. And most of the time, I’ve found that they really aren’t that dumb, they just could care less. They are too lazy to even find out what in the heck they are voting on.

Now Representative Bill Dunn, he should be Governor.

By Terry on 05.18.08 6:30 am

Danny, since you are retired, why not run for office? Sounds like you could ace that Gateway Exam!

By TNOPINION on 05.18.08 6:25 pm

[...] A ridiculous law has been proposed: Legislation that seeks to keep imitation firearms out of the hands of minors passed the state House. [...]

By SayUncle » Huh? on 05.20.08 7:49 am

Love your comments! We are trying to figure out what “behind the budget means,” and I found your comments via Google. So, if a bill is “placed behind the budget,” what in the world does that mean? To me, it says “let’s consider this bill AFTER the budget has been considered and approved,” but I will have to check with Susan Lynne and Mae Beavers (my reps in the Mt.Juliet / Wilson Country area).

By Jasper on 04.15.10 10:50 am