Tennessee Republicans unite to combat human trafficking at Nashville press conference

Creative Commons

During a Tuesday press conference, a collection of Tennessee Republicans announced their commitment to eliminating human trafficking within the state.

The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative advocacy organization, hosted the press conference in Nashville's old Supreme Court chamber. It included the participation of more than a dozen Tennessee Republicans from both the state House and Senate, the Daily Wire reports.

The conference was convened to address a bill that would require an annual report from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, focusing on increasing awareness and understanding of the human trafficking problem within the state.

“One of the things we have not done enough of, is drag this issue out into the light,” House Majority Leader William Lamberth stated.

“Have the TBI and law enforcement work together with the legislature to identify every single community where this is happening and then allocate needs towards that.”

The bill, SB 7088, is backed by Lamberth and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson. Distinguishing itself from many other bills presented during the special session, it successfully passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

“If you’re engaging in child and human sex trafficking in Tennessee, we’re coming after you. We’re going to war with you,” Johnson asserted.

Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN) also attended the event and expressed the belief that lawmakers have a moral obligation, which he described as a biblical mandate, to combat trafficking.

A summary of the bill indicates that it “requires the bureau to submit a report on child and human trafficking crimes and trends in this state, based upon data available to the bureau, as well as current programs and activities of the bureau’s human trafficking unit.”

“Human trafficking is the scourge of our time. It happens in our communities. It happens a mile from where we live. It happens even closer than that on certain occasions. We are dedicated to saving women and children and eradicating this scourge,” stated Aaron Gulbransen, the executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), as many as 600 children go missing in Tennessee every month. While some of these cases involve runaways or children in highly complicated circumstances, others are victims of trafficking.