Recently on WGNS Rutherford Magazine Show heard Sunday nights at 5p.m. on 100.5 FM, 1450AM and online at WGNSradio.com I had invited guests Joni Bryan, Director and founder of the 917 Society, Nashville attorney Ramona DeSalvo and John Taylor, a Franklin realtor, both of whom are leaders with the Convention of States. Both leaders were in studio to talk about the COS initiative for Constitution Day and how we all can work together with others like 917 to share the Constitution with the next generation.
I appreciate the passion and conviction of these three American Patriots and their grassroots efforts to bring much needed awareness to the importance of our United States Constitution.
The 917 Society’s mission is to empower every 8th grader with the knowledge of their individual freedoms and provide them with their very own lasting copy of the U.S. Constitution as a “rite of passage” into American Citizenship and celebrate Constitution Day each September 17th.
To listen to the Rutherford Magazine Show highlighting the U.S. Constitution and the efforts of the 917 Society click the Rutherford Magazine Show image below:
Last year I attended the 917 Society’s Fundraiser. I was glad to see many Tennessee state leaders speaking and in attendance—especially my friend Rep. John DeBerry. Sadly, John DeBerry, the 26-year state lawmaker was removed from the ballot by the Tennessee Democrat Executive Committee.
“My district has elected me 13 times,” DeBerry said after a House committee meeting. “Not just because I’m John DeBerry or because I’m a Democrat. But because they agree with what I fought for and what I stood for.”
The Democrat Party statewide committee didn’t like DeBerry’s voting record, which often aligned with Republicans on issues of a Pro-Life stance and his position of parents choosing their children’s educational needs—school choice.
The Democrat Party Committee’s effort to remove him from the ballot came after the filing deadline had passed, preventing DeBerry from filing again under another party.
Folks, I cannot make up the strange circumstance I have witnessed the past few years. The draconian measures by the Democrat party to remove DeBerry from the ballot — this is simply “Voter Suppression.” The irony is that the people of the house district 90 of Memphis sent DeBerry to Nashville to represent them 13 times.
When I first was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly I asked to meet with DeBerry. He was very gracious and shared with me that he had marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was at the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” on April 3, 1968, at the Mason Temple in Memphis the night before the reverend and civil rights leader was killed.
