Janice Bowling is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and senator for Tennessee's 16th State Senate district. Bowling is a Republican. Bowling has been a public official and community activist in her hometown of

Tullahoma, Tennessee Tullahoma is a city in Coffee and Franklin counties in southern Middle Tennessee, United States. The population was 20,339 at the 2020 census. In 2019, the population was estimated to be 19,555. It is the principal city of the Tullahoma microp ...

Political positions and actions

Marriage license gender restrictions

As a member of the Tennessee State Senate, Bowling sponsored a bill restricting the issuance of Tennessee marriage licenses to only marriages between a man and a woman, citing the Supreme Court's "

Lemon Test ''Lemon v. Kurtzman'', 403 U.S. 602 (1971), was a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States.. The court ruled in an 8–0 decision that Pennsylvania's Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act (represented through David Kurt ...

." Bowling's bill argued that state marriage licenses should be issued only to secular marriages, which are licenses between a man and a woman. Although Bowling got her bill passed through committee and the Senate floor, the bill never made it out of subcommittee in the Tennessee House of Representatives and was withdrawn.

Early voting

In 2021, Bowling spoke against

early voting Early voting, also called advance polling or pre-poll voting, is a convenience voting process by which voters in a public election can vote before a scheduled Election Day (politics), election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as v ...

in Tennessee, saying she believed early voting created “mischief.” She sponsored a bill reflecting her opinion but withdrew it quickly when she could find no member of the Tennessee House of Representatives willing to sponsor the bill in the house.

Removal of controversial Forrest bust

In March 2021, the Tennessee State Historical Commission voted to remove the bust of Confederate General

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

from the Tennessee State Capitol and relocate it to the Tennessee State Museum. A controversial figure in the state's history, Forrest was a slave trader and one of the first leaders of the Ku Klux Klan. Less than two weeks following the vote to remove Forrest's bust from the state capitol, Bowling was one of two state legislators who, instead of removing the bust of Forrest, wanted to vote to remove all 29 members of the Tennessee State Historical Commission. The two legislators’ bills would replace all 29 members with 12 new members. Bowling said she thought removing the bust was tantamount to the

cancel culture Cancel culture is a cultural phenomenon in which an individual thought to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner is ostracized, boycotted, shunned or fired, often aided by social media. This shunning may extend to social or professio ...

movement, saying such cancel narratives that are “based only on fact” are a “dangerous precedent.”

COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bowling expressed unverified claims about COVID-19 vaccines. In legislative hearings, Bowling said the vaccines could lead to genetic modification, a theory deemed “misinformation” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bowling opposed allowing COVID-19 vaccination for minors above the age of 14 and criticized the public health official who supported it by citing Tennessee law. In July 2021, Dr. Michelle Fiscus, the medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization programs at the Tennessee Department of Health, was terminated after she sent a letter to medical providers who administer vaccines regarding vaccinating minors. In her letter, Fiscus explained the state's “Mature Minor Doctrine,” a legal mechanism based on ''Cardwell v. Bechtol'', 724 S.W.2d. 739 (Tenn. 1987), that stated physicians may treat minors between the ages of 14 and 18 without parental consent, unless the physician believes the minor is too immature to make his or her own health-care decisions. During a Senate hearing on Fiscus' firing, an angry Bowling argued that the state was misinterpreting its legal authority. She proposed legislation barring government mandates of COVID-19 vaccines and allowing religious exemptions. The legislation was signed into law by Republican Governor Bill Lee, effective May 25, 2021, despite the vocal and aggressive opposition of several organizations for physicians, first responders and other health-care providers.

Furry litter boxes

Bowling claimed that her rural district were providing litter boxes in schools to children that identify as cats. This claim was not substantiated.

References

City of Tullahoma Board of Mayor & Aldermen Bios
Retrieved on 28 October 2007 *

External links

Senator Bowling's Official Office Website

at Tennessee State Senate

at Tullahoma City School Systems {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowling, Janice Living people 1947 births Politicians from Selma, Alabama Tennessee city council members Republican Party Tennessee state senators Women state legislators in Tennessee Women city councillors in Tennessee 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly