Gun violence is still top of mind for a number of organizations as lawmakers from across the state convene in Nashville Tuesday for the next regular session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
In March, a shooter killed three children and three adults at Nashville’s Covenant School. Among the victims was a friend of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. Thousands began to show up at the Tennessee State Capitol Building to demand action gun violence from lawmakers.
Lee later proposed a series of laws to keep guns out of the hands of those who could be a threat to themselves or others. None of his Republican colleagues picked up the bills. Instead, they quickly passed the state budget and fled back to their home districts.
However, Lee brought them all back to Nashville in August for a special session. The meeting was to yield some sort of meaningful regulations to curb gun violence here. None came, really. Though one bill did cut the tax for gun locks and safes. Republicans, it seemed, had sidestepped the issue with no political damage done to their Second-Amendment stances.
However, at least two groups are not yet ready to let the gun-violence-debate fade as the GOP would like.
Rise and Shine Tennessee, a nonprofit group created during last year’s rallies against gun violence last year, will bring children aged 5-10 to Nashville to tell their stories to the media. The children will speak Tuesday morning as legislators prepare for the first day of the new session.
”It’s time to hear from the youth themselves about their desires and needs,” reads a statement from the group. “These youth are not pawns in a political game, but individuals impacted the most by inaction on gun safety.”
The group will return to Nashville Thursday with a group of high school students who have met with lawmakers, attended rallies, and sat in meetings of the legislature.
Another group will convene at Legislative Plaza Tuesday to “address gun violence and safety while upholding gun rights.” The TN11 group is comprised of 11 Tennesseans “from all sides of the ideological and political aisle,” including a firearms instructor, a former state trooper, a teacher, and a Memphis college student and activist.
”Gun violence is like a yarn ball — and not the kind that comes all rolled up and pretty — but the kind that is just everywhere,” reads a statement from the TN11 website from Memphis’ Jaila Hampton. “It’s so complex. There’s no overnight solution, and every day that we’re doing nothing, somebody is losing their life.”
This group used the online Citizens Solutions platform to help solve the divisive gun violence issue. Over the past few months, the group’s list of eight proposals on the matter were whittled down to five from more than 30,000 Tennesseans from all 95 counties. The group will present those proposals to lawmakers Tuesday.
The proposals include:
• Temporary removal of firearms based on risk of violence
• Tools to support responsible gun ownership
• Expansion of the roles of School Resource Officers
• Community investment to reduce trauma
• Gun issue literacy resources for schools, communities, and media
Another group likely to continue to speak out against gun violence here is Moms Demand Action Tennessee (MDAT). Members of that group were ever present during the special session in August with some among those kicked out of a committee room by a GOP chairman.
On Facebook Friday, MDAT posted a new ranking from the national Everytown for Gun Safety organization. Tennessee ranked 29th in the nation for gun law strength. The group said Tennessee had some of the weakest gun laws in the country with some of the highest rates of gun violence.
