Jay and Gerri Gass have introduced their dead daughter to more strangers than they can count. Many of those introductions have happened in minutes-long meetings with Tennessee lawmakers over the last few months as the couple fought to pass a law that would protect drivers from defective and dangerous cars.
"Every time you're here you go, go, go and hope for the best," Jay said. "You hope you didn't say something wrong, you haven't done anything incorrectly, and you've covered your bases."
Jay and Gerri's daughter Lara died in 2014 after the ignition switch in her GM car failed on the interstate. A recall was issued for her vehicle shortly before her crash, but parts were not available to fix the problem.
Her parents, armed with just a tiny army of volunteers, have brought a bill called Lara's Law to the Tennessee Capitol two times. The law would force car dealers to fix recalled cars before they're sold - something that is not required now.
But lobbyists for the automotive industry have shut down the bill both times.
"We don’t have those full time representatives. We are the representative. We’re just citizens trying to do the right thing," Jay said. "There’s professional staff backing up the automotive industry, I have no staff. "
Carfax data shows there are about 63 million recalled cars on United States roadways this year, a 34 percent increase from 2016. A majority of recalled vehicles are family friendly models like SUVs and mini vans.
Jay and Gerri have invested years into keeping drivers safe by taking defective vehicles off the roadways.
They've researched and written the language of the law with the help of volunteers. They've spent hours negotiating with lobbyists like Bob Weaver, who represents the Tennessee Automotive Association. Gerri takes time off from her work as a nurse to meet with lawmakers. Each meeting requires the couple to make the hour long drive from Clarksville to Nashville. They pay for parking.
Then, they battle for just a few minutes to speak with lawmakers about the worst day of their lives.
The process is costly, time consuming, and emotionally draining.
"You have to plan every step, you have to plan your own meetings, write your own documents, remember to bring your pictures, your information with you to the meetings," Jay said. "Then when you get there, you sometimes get only minutes to speak to a representative."
This session, a handful of lawmakers pledged to support Lara's Law in private meetings with Jay and Gerri. Others promised to seriously consider supporting the legislation.
But at the end of March, when Senator Jeff Yarbro moved to hear the bill in the Senate Transportation Committee, it failed for a lack of a second.
"It’s on the legislators, they have to take that, that’s on their conscious and that has to be on them," Gerri said. "They’re being presented with the opportunity to fix this problem and correct it and to save lives on Tennessee roads, and they’re choosing politics over people."
Jay and Gerri have vowed to bring Lara's Law back to the legislature every year until it passes.
