Tennessee State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) is pushing back against California Governor Gavin Newsom, whose super PAC released an advertisement attacking Tennessee for proposing a parental rights bill.
The bill in question, HB 1895, aims to criminalize “abortion trafficking,” which involves individuals who are not related to the minor child providing out-of-state travel for the purpose of aborting an unborn child.
Zachary (pictured above) introduced the bill last month.
On Sunday, Newsom shared his super PAC’s video advertisement to X, formerly Twitter, which features a young woman handcuffed to a hospital bed and claims “Trump Republicans” in Tennessee were criminalizing women for receiving necessary healthcare.
Zachary called the video “the definition of gaslighting.”
“That is absolutely a lie and absurd. Nothing we have done related to life, abortion, since I’ve been in the legislature, puts any criminal penalty or onus on the young lady or the woman who’s receiving an abortion. Never, we’ve never done that. And [Newsom] knows that. This is the folly of a fool,” Zachary said during Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.
Zachary went on to say he would be happy to debate Newsom on the topic, adding, “this kind of stuff is what the left does all the time.”
“This is why the contrast between blue and red states is going to continue to go brighter and brighter because Republicans and conservatives and just good people are going to leave great states, beautiful states like California because of the leadership there and it’s despicable,” Zachary said, noting how self-described “refugees” from states like California, Illinois, and New York are resettling in Tennessee.
The state representative went on to detail Newsom’s “disconnect” with his own state and “obsession” with Tennessee and other Republican-led states.
“I don’t ever think about California. We’re in the middle of session… I am never thinking about it. Forget California, I’m not thinking about Alabama, Georgia, states that border us. I am focused on Tennessee and what we can do to continue to push Tennessee forward and make it the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I mean, that is my focus. And for a governor in a woke state and a blue state with a $70 billion annual deficit worrying about what’s going on in Tennessee, I think he needs to mind his own business and worry about what’s going on in his state and stop focusing on what’s going on around the rest of the country,” Zachary said.
“Unless he’s running for president, which is the only reason this makes sense is if he’s going to come after Tennessee, but you’re right, he does seem to have this weird obsession with Tennessee. And I think it may just be because we’re winning,” Zachary added.
Newsom’s attack ad targeting the Volunteer State is not the first time the Democrat governor has weighed in on Tennessee politics.
Last year, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star, Newsom criticized a bill signed into law by Governor Bill Lee outlawing “adult cabaret performances” – including drag shows – in public spaces and restricting them to age-appropriate venues.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Jason Zachary” by Jason Zachary. Photo “Gavin Newsom” by California Governor.
