NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s Republican-dominant House on Wednesday spiked legislation that would have banned local governments from paying to either study or dispense money for reparations for slavery.
The move marked a rare defeat on a GOP-backed proposal initially introduced nearly one year ago. It easily cleared the Republican-controlled Senate last April, but lawmakers eventually hit pause as the House became consumed with controversy over expelling two Black Democratic lawmakers for their participating in a pro-gun control protest from the House floor. That protest followed a deadly elementary school shooting in Nashville.