ARTICLE

Beacon Center Notches Two More Legal Victories to Stay Undefeated

May 17, 2017 11:55AM

The Beacon Center Legal Foundation has just picked up two additional victories on lawsuits it has filed. The state legislature has removed the licensing requirements on shampooing and animal massage as a direct result of Beacon’s lawsuits on those two issues. 

After Beacon filed a highly publicized lawsuit challenging the state law requiring a license to wash hair, Gov. Bill Haslam proposed eliminating the law. It passed the legislature overwhelmingly. Soon thereafter, legislators passed a temporary repeal of the state veterinarian board’s rule requiring a veterinarian license to massage animals after Beacon challenged the rule in court.

Martha Stowe, Beacon’s client in the horse massage case, had kind words to say about Beacon’s Legal Foundation. “I truly appreciate everything the Beacon Center has done for me. When it felt like all hope was lost, the Beacon Center came in and took on my case for free so that I could continue doing what I love for a living, massaging horses. I am forever grateful and hope that they will help more people like me in the future.”

These victories come after the Beacon Center defeated the city of Nashville in court for its unconstitutional regulations on homesharing, making the Beacon Legal Foundation an unprecedented three for three in its lawsuits against government. The Beacon Center’s fourth and most recent lawsuit is challenging Nashville’s so-called “affordable housing” mandate.

Braden Boucek, Director of Litigation for the Beacon Center, noted, “Our Legal Foundation has had unbelievable success in such a short period of time. Our lawsuits persuaded the state legislature to act on unfair regulations that kept hard-working Tennesseans like Tammy Pritchard, Martha Stowe, and Laurie Wheeler from achieving their American Dream. We will continue to make sure that the government doesn’t obstruct Tennesseans’ right to earn a living in the future.”

Justin Owen, CEO of the Beacon Center, weighed in by saying, “We are extremely happy that Tammy, Laurie, Martha, and thousands of other Tennesseans can now go back to doing what they love. We commend the state legislature and Gov. Haslam for helping put Tennesseans back to work.”