NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Two Republican lawmakers are sponsoring a three-bill series to stop hate in the state after multiple neo-Nazi hate groups marched in Nashville and anti-Semitic groups targeted a synagogue and distributed anti-Jewish literature last year.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) and Republican Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) recently filed the Protecting Everyone Against Crime and Extremism (PEACE) Act. The bills that make up the PEACE Act address hate littering and trespassing, police procedure and obstruction, and road safety.
Sen. Pody told News 2 he started working on the three bills around July 2024 and met with Republicans, Democrats, police, the Davidson County District Attorney, Jewish community leaders, and others to find the perfect balance between respecting someone’s First Amendment right and mitigating hate.
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“When there are protests and such, I want to protect their First Amendment right that they can protest, they can do it, but they have to do it in a respectful and peaceful way,” Sen. Pody said. “There shouldn’t be discrimination from anybody.”
The bills would make it illegal for extremist groups to “hate litter” by trespassing in neighborhoods and other areas to leave hate-filled fliers. The legislation would also block them from hanging signs on bridges, tunnels, and overpasses.
In addition, the PEACE Act would make it a misdemeanor to give a fake name, or no name to police when being detained or arrested, and it would make it illegal to ride in the back of a box truck, which is how neo-Nazi groups entered Nashville undetected before protesting, according to Metro police.
“We watched people come in to protest, and they came into Nashville in box trucks, and we want to find a way that we can stop it,” Sen. Pody said. “Law enforcement didn’t feel like they had enough enforcement power at that point.”
The legislation would also make it a misdemeanor to come within 25 feet of a law enforcement officer if the officer previously ordered the individual to stop or get back, which Sen. Pody said would give police a “buffer.”
This measure has been passed in multiple other states, including Indiana and Louisiana, however, it’s been criticized and legally challenged. In Indiana, the ACLU argued it could make it more difficult to film police activities, it undermines police accountability, and it violates the First Amendment. However, a federal judge ruled against their argument in Jan. 2024.
Sen. Pody told News 2 he very carefully considered the Constitution when crafting the legislation.
“I don’t want to step on somebody’s First Amendment right that they can protest, they can say what’s on their mind, and I don’t want to stop that,” Sen. Pody said. “A lot of people protest some of the things that I say and do, and I don’t want to stop that, but if they’re doing it in such a way that it’s intimidating someone…you can protest, but you can’t intimidate somebody to where they feel unsafe coming out.”
According to the most recent TBI report on Hate Crimes, there were 122 reported hate crimes in Tennessee in 2023 that were motivated by a known bias, or committed due to someone’s race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or another reason.
