Family Cemeteries are part of our heritage as well. How many of you from Tennessee have contacted your legislators to voice your opinion regarding the Cemetery Proposal being considered for passage? This is a serious issue. Unless we put a stop to these bills soon, family research will be forever adversely affected in our state. Now is the time to join together and turn these bills around. I urge you all to please assist in this effort to stop these bills from becoming law. If passed, they go into effect July 1, 2007. Please look closely at the following clause contained in both the House Bill 1354 and Senate Bill 1804: In order for a friend of a deceased person, of the family, or of a descendant or persons engaging in genealogical research to exercise the right of ingress and egress to a cemetery or to graves on private property as eligible persons, the friend or researcher must have written designation as such by a descendant or other member of the family of the deceased. Such a requirement will cause a restriction of access to hundreds of family cemeteries in our immediate area and thousands throughout the state. If we, those whose interest is in our history and in preserving our past, don't defend our right to do so, then those rights shall be taken away from us by those acting on behalf of other agendas. This is a call "To Arms!" Contact your legislators please! Respectfully, Danny M. Nichols