[ applause ] thank you. Thank you. Members of the General Assembly, its my honor to present dill bill bill lee, governor of the state of tennessee. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Lieutenant governor mcnacnally, speaker pro tiem dunn. Members of the 111th General Assembly, constitutional officers, justices, fellow tennesseeans. Its an honor to be before you once again tonight. Truly an honor. Before i begin, speaker sexton, let me offer a special congratulations to you on your election as our new speaker. [ applause ] i look forward to working with you not only in this session but if the years ahead as we strive to make tennessee a leader in this country. Last year i stood before you on this podiumnewly inaugurated add the 50 governor of tennessee, and i had no idea what i was getting myself into. Its been a rewarding year. Far more rewarding than i could have ever imagined. To serve tennesseeans, to help m
Proposal, as teachers in West Virginia went on strike for not having received a raise in years , and teachers are fairly underpaid. That is what is ironic, that the president , when it comes to something that he thinks is important, he wants to pay for it. As opposed to what we know is important, which is how do you attract and retain brave people into graeat people teaching . That is the issue in West Virginia this week. And it has been an issue for a while. I was in charleston this week. And i have never seen that level of anger and that number of educators in and around the capital in West Virginia. As you know, i spent a lot of time in West Virginia because the aft has started this partnership to revitalize the eighth poorest county in the country. I spent a lot of time at that capital, and i spent a lot of time in West Virginia. Here is the deal with West Virginia. Teachers in West Virginia are paid 48th out of 50 in the nation. And teachers in the surrounding counties and states
Schools to be safe sanctuary for teaching and learning, not armed fortresses. Not armed camps. It felt like oh, this is what the nra has wanted all along. This is now a new market for the gun manufacturers. This is where the president , after that listening session, to the conversation . If you think about it pragmatically, it is an insane a suggestion, because what are you going to do in terms of teachers . Our kindergarten teachers going to wear their guns on their hips . Are you talking about just handguns versus an Assault Rifle that can shoot 90 rounds in a minute . What happens if kids are rushing along and a horribl hallway . What is a frightened teacher going to do . I could go through all of these unanswered questions, and the more questions you go through, the more you realize what an insane idea it is. And frankly, i was on the phone with about asked he thousand 60,000 teachers and other educators this week and we raised this idea as one of the ideas of the president had sai
I will begin with your response to the president calling for teachers to be armed in our nations schools . Randi it is a terrible idea. Stop. , full but it saddens me, because it absolutely no understanding that children, parents, and educators all want and need schools to be safe sanctuaries for teaching and learning, not armed fortresses. Not armed camps. And it felt like go, this is what the nra has wanted all along. This is now a new market for the gun manufacturers. And this is where the president , after that listening session, to ok this conversation instead of actually trying to reduce gun violence in our streets and our schools . So if you think about it pragmatically, it is an insane suggestion, because what are you going to do in terms of teachers . Are kindergarten teachers going to wear their guns on their hips . Where are you going to lock guns . Are you talking about just handguns versus and ar15 that can shoot 90 rounds in a minute . So what happens if kids are rushing
Convicted on all counts. I have an altar set up for her, in remembrance of her, and i burned a candle on it this morning, thinking of her. Reporter Michelle Wilkins says her baby aurora was her only thought when the verdict was read. The woman who attacked her and took aurora from her womb was convicted on all counts. And in that moment, i felt like all of that pain was acknowledged. Indicated. Reporter michelle sat down with me, two newspaper requirements and a german tv news crew to talk more intimately about what she has endured and learned in the past year. There are so many gifts and lessons that come out of the hardest experiences of our reporter one gift that was difficult but important was a chance to meet her baby a few days after the attack. I did all the things that a mom would want to. I read to her, i dressed her. I held her. But knowing that she was only present in spirit and not physically was really painful thing to grasp. Reporter michelle studied auroras face and reco