"Son of a Gun!" Joe Sweat, the ACLU lobbyist turned to me as we stood in the Senate gallery this morning. The senate had just unanimously approved Doug Jackson's bill to create a study commission to examine Tennessee's death penalty. In fact, the bill had been on the Senate's consent calendar!

Had you told me, five months ago when we began this legislative session, that the Senate would have found any bill dealing with death penalty non-controversial, I probably would have laughed. Yet, with TCASK activists from all across the state writing to their legislators during our International Abolition Day Write-a-thons, visiting on Justice Day on the Hill, and responding to action alerts with calls and emails, that's exactly what happened.

And, of course, without the expert help of the Catholic Public Policy Commission, the ACLU, and NAMI Tennessee, we could never have recruited great sponsorships or developed the strategy that has been so successful.

Our attention now turns to the House. The study bill (HB 2162) is currently in the Study Sobcommittee of the House Finance, Ways and Means committee. It is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday morning of next week. It should then progress through the full committee and then head to the floor! We only have a few weeks left in session, but we are closing in on our legislative goals for the year!

You can take action today by calling (615.741.3830) or emailing Speaker Pro Tem Lois DeBerry (who chairs the Study Sobcommittee) and asking her to move House Bill 2162 through her subcommittee on Wednesday!