John Gillespie

Rep. John Gillespie (R), District 97, has served in the Tennessee State House since 2021. Rep. Gillespie has a respectable vote score of 64%. His leadership grade of D- indicates a personal lack of pro-freedom initiatives. Leadership grades are based on sponsorships, co-sponsorships, amendments, and other acts, both good (+) and bad (-).

TLRC scores and grades reflect the entire process, not just end results. We count every vote on every selected bill. Bills are selected for their value to ordinary Tennesseans, or their insult to those values. We encourage our General Assembly members to support the former and oppose the latter. When they don’t, they lose points.

Rep. Gillespie supported the following TLRC endorsed bills:

• HB1137/SB1197 – No restrictions on church activities in declared emergency
• HB1749/SB2285 – Court decisions de novo, not based on a state agency’s interpretation
• HB1867/SB1823 – Vaccine exemptions protected
• HB1871/SB1982 – Recognition that natural immunity is equal or superior to vaccine
• HB1960/SB1884 – No government vaccine mandates
• HB2128/SB2245 – Election integrity measures (weak)
• HB2316/SB2153 – No males in girls’ sports
• HB2331/SB2558 – Auditable paper trail voting machines
• HB2454/SB2292 – Redefines “obscene” to include educational material in K-12 making it unlawful
• HB2742/SB2728 – Requires HS to teach virtues of capitalism and the constitution
• HB2746/SB2188 – Makes Ivermectin available over the counter

Here are six TLRC-opposed bills that Rep. Gillespie supported:

• HB0204/SB0136 The Crown Act- protecting ethnic hairstyles in the work place
• HB1201/SB1005 Changes in campaign finance giving advantage to incumbents; limiting freedom of speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK5Ov35oRxI
• HB2142/SB2395 – “Juneteenth” as an official Tennessee holiday
• HB2609/SB2890 – Cincinnati Reds 80% tax-break for Chattanooga farm team
• HB2886/SB2901 Provides $500M for Titans to build new stadium
• HB8002/SB8002 – Provides $678,218,300 of taxpayer money for Ford to build an electric vehicle plant in W. TN

Corporate welfare in all forms should be opposed. Our state government should not be giving economic advantages to any public or private for-profit entities. Let the free market pick the winners and losers. Jobs would come to Tennessee if we were actually to reform our education system and educate instead of indoctrinate. A well-educated workforce would be unique in America and every business would want to be in our right-to-work, no income tax state. Members should rethink these handouts.

Rep. Gillespie has potential to be a leader in the battle against bigger government and for our tenth amendment rights, and to make good policy decisions for ordinary Tennesseans by Tennesseans. We are in crisis. We can and must do better.

By listing these bills, we hope that tells you what you need to know about your General Assembly members. We encourage you to reach out and let them know how you feel about the various issues and VOTE accordingly. To contact members, go to: https://www.capitol.tn.gov