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SENATE BILL 2275
By Briggs
HOUSE BILL 2438
By McKenzie
HB2438
012268
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 15,
Chapter 2, relative to "Gold Star Father's Day."
WHEREAS, November 9 is the day for observance of "Gold Star Father's Day" to honor
the fathers of fallen or permanently disabled members of the United States Armed Forces and
to celebrate and honor such fathers and their child's sacrifice; and
WHEREAS, the goals of "Gold Star Father's Day" on November 9, are to honor and
celebrate fathers who have lost children in service to the United States; to honor fathers of fallen
members of the Armed Forces and recognize that they, as parents, have experienced
extraordinary and unimaginable loss; to recognize the need to support families of members of
the Armed Forces throughout the United States; and to honor the courage of fathers who
understand the true price of freedom and now face Father's Day without their child or children;
and
WHEREAS, thousands of men and women have laid down their lives to defend the
liberty and soul of our nation, and families of such fallen members of the United States Armed
Forces have lost their loved ones in service to our country; and
WHEREAS, families of members of the Armed Forces demonstrate a unique kind of
heroism that includes supporting children and family members while loved ones are deployed,
sacrificing holidays with members who are serving overseas, and facing each day knowing their
loved one might be in danger and may never return home; and
WHEREAS, before the Iraq war, the United States lost over 1,300,000 members of the
Armed Forces during wartime, and, since October 2001, over 4,400 members of the Armed
Forces have lost their lives serving this country, leaving thousands of grieving family members
behind; and
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WHEREAS, in 1936, Congress designated the last Sunday in September as Gold Star
Mother's Day; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, the Gold Star Father's Act was signed into law to ensure Gold Star
Fathers were eligible for the same benefits guaranteed to mothers of fallen or permanently
disabled members of the Armed Forces to recognize their sacrifice and loss. However, the Act
did not designate a Gold Star Father's Day; and
WHEREAS, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., designated September 25, 2022, as Gold
Star Mother's and Family Day, President Donald Trump designated September 24, 2017, as
Gold Star Mother's and Family Day, and President Barack Obama proclaimed September 25,
2016, as Gold Star Mother's and Family Day; and
WHEREAS, on March 24, 2017, the Georgia House of Representatives adopted House
Resolution 723, recognizing November 9, as Georgia Gold Star Father's Day; and
WHEREAS, on March 6, 2025, the Mississippi House of Representatives adopted
House Concurrent Resolution 48, recognizing November 9, as Mississippi Gold Star Father's
Day; and
WHEREAS, it is important that the members of this legislative body also honor the
fathers of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country; now, therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 15, Chapter 2, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
November 9 of each year is to be observed as "Gold Star Father's Day," to honor
and recognize fathers who have lost children in service to the United States as members
of the United States armed forces. This day shall not be a legal holiday as defined in §
15-1-101.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.