Tag: gun control

The governor’s proposal enabling law enforcement to confiscate weapons from unstable people is likely to go down in flames during a special session.

Tennessee’s House and Senate speakers forecast a harsh reception for Gov. Bill Lee’s plan Wednesday in an interview with reporters.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton termed the governor’s idea floated at the end of the regular session a “red flag” law and said “it won’t pass the House.” The governor has avoided the term “red flag.”

Even though the governor’s plan would require a due process hearing before a judge to determine whether someone is a danger to themselves or others, Sexton said, “You get to a point where it looks like one whether or not it is. … Most red flag laws [are] an order of protection that doesn’t provide mental health services for people on the backside. We’re not gonna pass a red flag law.”

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who serves as Senate speaker, would not say the governor’s plan is dead in the Senate but noted it will be difficult to pass.

The governor is set to call a special session for Aug. 21 for the Legislature to consider measures to stop mass shootings in the wake of The Covenant School incident in which six people, including three 9-year-old students, were killed at the Green Hills private Christian school.

Most red flag laws is an order of protection that doesn’t provide mental health services for people on the backside. We’re not gonna pass a red flag law.

– House Speaker Cameron Sexton

McNally said Wednesday he likes the governor’s initial proposal and believes methods to quell mass shootings need to be addressed. But he couldn’t say whether it would be more difficult to pass such a measure in the Senate or House.

“I think it’s gonna be an uphill battle both ways. I don’t think it’s an impossible hill to climb,” McNally said.

The lieutenant governor noted he “hopes” the Legislature doesn’t wind up “not doing anything.”

A spokeswoman for Gov. Lee didn’t address the Legislature’s opposition Wednesday, instead saying he supports “practical, thoughtful solutions to keep communities safe and protect constitutional rights.” 

She added his office worked with lawmakers in advance of a special session to discuss “meaningful proposals” that would do both. 

The proclamation calling the special session is expected to be made toward the targeted August date. 

Republicans haven’t proposed other solutions while Democrats, such as Sen. Heidi Campbell of Nashville, are pushing a list of restrictions ranging from orders of protection to tighter background checks, an end to loopholes for gun show sales and bans on bump stocks and AR-15s.

Sexton, in contrast, said he is working on legislation that could enable police to investigate “general threats,” in addition to “specific threats,” to determine whether a person poses a public danger. In those cases, an arrest and conviction could lead to prohibitions on buying or possessing guns, depending on the severity of the sentence.

The state already has laws dealing with emergency and voluntary commitment, and his office is talking to law enforcement officials to find out why those aren’t used more effectively, he said.

In addition, Sexton said a special session is needed to help the TBI develop a uniform court system for criminal records rather than have 230,000 records missing from the database. 

“Twelve years of data of someone who may not be able to purchase a gun based on those criminal records,” Sexton said. 

House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons said in response Wednesday, “It sounds like the GOP supermajority holding our state government hostage is yet again kowtowing to extremists and ignoring the pleas of Tennessee families by proposing toothless and redundant laws.”

Gun-rights groups have been pounding lawmakers for weeks with messages opposing any type of restrictions on gun ownership, including extreme risk protection orders.

Democrats are prepared to work with Republicans to pass “meaningful gun safety” bills, which the majority of Tennesseans support, Clemmons said.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called for a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly “to strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights.” Lee’s proposed session would convene on August 21st.

Lee had promised a special session after the legislature closed its 2023 session without taking up his proposal to pass legislation to curb gun violence in the state. The final weeks of the session were dominated by talks of gun violence after a shooter killed three students and three teachers at a Nashville’s Covenant School, but no gun-reform measures were enacted.   

“After speaking with members of the General Assembly, I am calling for a special session on August 21st to continue our important discussion about solutions to keep Tennessee communities safe and preserve the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens,” said Lee. “There is broad agreement that action is needed, and in the weeks ahead, we’ll continue to listen to Tennesseans and pursue thoughtful, practical measures that strengthen the safety of Tennesseans, preserve Second Amendment rights, prioritize due process protections, support law enforcement and address mental health.”

Many state GOP members weren’t convinced a session was needed. Some, like House Republican Caucus Chairman Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), said they wanted to understand the Covenant School shooter’s motive before moving on gun control. 

”Audrey Hale murdered 6 Christians, and many Tennesseans are demanding that their state legislature ’do something.,’” Faison tweeted in late April. “We cannot possibly address this horrific situation until we know what was in her manifesto. I am calling on the Metropolitan Nashville Police Deparment [sic] & the FBI to immediately release this document so we can examine it, then take the appropriate steps.”

Audrey Hale murdered 6 Christians, and many Tennesseans are demanding that their state legislature “do something."

We cannot possibly address this horrific situation until we know what was in her manifesto.

I am calling on the Metropolitan Nashville Police Deparment & the FBI…

— Rep. Jeremy Faison (@JeremyFaison4TN) April 24, 2023

”There were 6 innocent lives taken & we are told that the killer left a manifesto,” tweeted state Rep. Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville). ”I urge  @MNPDNashville and @TBInvestigation to release the document in order to look at effective policy that addresses the root of the issue.” 

There were 6 innocent lives taken & we are told that the killer left a manifesto. I urge @MNPDNashville and @TBInvestigation to release the document in order to look at effective policy that addresses the root of the issue. pic.twitter.com/Fl1wxzYnSj

— Rep. Andrew Farmer (@RepAndrewFarmer) April 26, 2023

Governor Lee urged Tennesseans to ”engage in the conversation” by sharing comments on a designated state website here. 

“Gov. Lee will meet with legislators, stakeholders, and Tennesseans throughout the summer to discuss practical solutions ahead of the special session,” reads a statement for his office. ”The governor’s office will issue a formal call ahead of the special session.” 

Gov. Bill Lee will call a special session to tackle gun reform after the Tennessee Legislature adjourned for the year Friday night without tackling gun reform nearly a month after a mass shooting at a Nashville private school.

The governor said Friday night he made the decision after discussions with legislative leaders. He did not lay out a time frame but said the session will be used to “strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights.”

“There is broad agreement that dangerous, unstable individuals who intend to harm themselves and others should not have access to weapons. We also share a strong commitment to preserving Second Amendment rights, ensuring due process and addressing the heart of the problem with strengthened mental health resources,” Lee said in a statement.

People have asked us to do something, and instead the majority party did nothing.

– Senate Majority Leader Raumesh Akbari, on the General Assembly’s passage of culture war bills, while failing to address safe gun measures.

The 113th General Assembly passed a spate of culture war bills and a $56.2 billion budget but declined to take up the governor’s “order of protection” bill that would enable weapons to be confiscated from people deemed a risk to themselves and others.

Democrats urged the governor to bring the Legislature back to Nashville as soon as possible while lamenting the failure to pass any sort of weapons bill, calling the entire session a “failure.”

“People have asked us to do something, and instead the majority party did nothing,” Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari said Friday night after the Legislature adjourned. 

House Minority Leader Karen Camper contended “a very small handful of legislators” decided not to do anything about gun violence. She said Republican leaders approached her the day of the shooting and said they were ready to take on gun reform but then backed out.

Earlier in the day, House Speaker Cameron Sexton held out the possibility a special session could be called in a matter of weeks to take up weapons-related bills in response to the death of the six people, including three 9-year-olds, at The Covenant School in Green Hills. The shooter is believed to have been undergoing treatment for what family called “an emotional disorder” and had bought several high-capacity rifles, using two AR-15s in the deadly shooting before being killed by Metro Nashville Police officers.

But following the session, Sexton said “stakeholder” meetings should be held statewide to see where people stand on new gun-related laws.

The state is experiencing high revenues and the Legislature put some $240 million for legislative district projects into the record-setting budget. But Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said the Legislature would have been forced to amend the budget almost at the same time it went through approval, because of the late hour of Lee’s proposal. But he wouldn’t classify the wording in the governor’s plan as a “non-starter.”

Despite protests and rallies for the last three and a half weeks around the Capitol complex, the Republican-controlled Senate and House refused to act on Gov. Bill Lee’s bill putting a new “order of protection” law into place cutting access to weapons for people determined to be a danger to themselves and others. The measure, which never gained a sponsor, would have required the targeted person to have a court hearing before being ordered to turn in weapons.

The matter remains contentious.

A group called the American Firearms Association visited the Capitol complex Thursday, passing out papers opposing Lee’s bill as “red flag gun confiscation” and urging lawmakers to keep it from advancing.

A group of women, though, Voices for a Safer Tennessee, spent Thursday and Friday lobbying for passage of the bill and other measures designed to restrict weapons.

The group put out survey information showing a strong majority of people favor Lee’s plan, requirements to report stolen firearms, the closing of background check loopholes, a 72-hour waiting period for gun buys, and strong gun storage laws.

Yet a measure sponsored by Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, to restrict sales of rifles capable of holding magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition failed Friday in a delayed bills committee made up of Speaker Cameron Sexton and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, both Republicans, and House Minority Leader Karen Camper.

Lamberth said he could never support such a bill because it would outlaw nearly every rifle made, including .22-caliber rifles, small gauge guns that can hold upwards of 20 bullets.

Sexton told Mitchell he might be able to bring the bill forward in a few weeks if a special session is called to consider gun-related bills or next year when the second half of the 113th General Assembly reconvenes.

Protests rocked the Capitol over the last month, and a chain of people stretched this week from Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt where shooting victims were taken to the Capitol. 

In that time frame, Republican lawmakers expelled two young, Black Democrats and tried to boot out a third for leading an anti-gun protest on the House floor and violating decorum.

Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville survived the expulsion hearing, but Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville and Pearson came out on the short end of votes. They returned less than a week later after reappointments by the Metro Nashville Council and Shelby County Commission and regained their seats.

The so-called “Tennessee Three” received worldwide acclaim and in the past few days inserted themselves more actively into the House floor debate, often challenging the speaker and other members over rules and bills.

Jones said after the session he would give the Legislature an “F for failure, foolishness, and fascism.” He was consistently shut down by Sexton for breaking debate rules.

Lawmakers also dealt this week with the sudden resignation of Republican Rep. Scotty Campbell, who was found by an ethics subcommittee of sexually harassing a 19-year-old intern, making vulgar comments to her and at one point grabbing her around the neck, according to a NewsChannel5 report.

Speaker Sexton laid Campbell’s decision to resign at the feet of the subcommittee, even though it doesn’t have the authority to penalize members for breaking rules. The subcommittee sent a letter to Sexton on March 29 letting him know its decision. But no action was taken against Campbell, and less than two hours before he vacated, he said he wasn’t going to step down.

Among the hotly-debated culture war items was a measure requiring the state treasurer to make investments based on financial factors, not environmental, social, and governance interests.

State Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, pushed the measure to passage, pointing out State Treasurer David Lillard requested the bill as a foundation for his investment strategies. 

Pearson, an environmental activist, questioned the bill, saying it could cause racial injustice. Zachary responded that he was amazed Pearson could bring race into every matter he discusses on the House floor.

However, Rep. Jason Powell, D-Nashville, pointed out some of the most successful companies in the world, such as PayPal and Mastercard, use environment, social and governance policies to guide their decisions. Lawmakers and state leaders might disagree about climate change, Powell said, “But we want to make sure companies we invest in as a state have concerns about the future.”

Many of those culture-war bills that passed the Republican-controlled chambers, including one enabling teachers to opt out of “implicit bias training” drew sustained debate before passing with Republican support.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called on the Tennessee General Assembly to pass new “Order of Protection” legislation before the end of its session to “strengthen the safety and preserve the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.”

The request came in a Wednesday YouTube video titled, “We Owe Tennesseans a Vote.” Lee began advocating for the legislation last week. That push came after last month’s deadly shooting at a Nashville school.

The legislation would “ensure dangerous individuals who are a threat to themselves or others do not have access to weapons, while requiring due process and a high burden of proof to preserve the Second Amendment,” according to Lee.

The gun-safety battle dominated the General Assembly’s session following the Covenant School shooting in late March, but, Republican members have shown little public interest in any legislation that whiffs of “gun control,” not even Lee’s proposal.

No legislation has been put forth that would make Lee’s idea state law. and the legislature has issued special rules to hasten the end of its 2023 regular session. In response, Lee issued a special call to legislators.

“We hear stories of pragmatic leaders who collectively stepped outside of their party lines to do what they thought was the right thing, changing the course of history for the better,” Lee said in the video. “But what the history books don’t always capture is the difficulty of those moments when leaders are standing at a crossroads, choosing between the easy path and the right path.

“I believe we find ourselves at that moment today. We are standing at a crossroads.”

Read the full transcript of Lee’s message here:

Tennesseans – I want to share an update with you. The past few weeks have been some of our most difficult as a state. 

We’ve been working really hard on solutions and have reached a pivotal moment, and I want to speak to that today. 

There have been times in American history when great tragedy caused those who are elected to serve to come together and respond with thoughtful action…action to improve laws, preserve rights and protect communities.

We hear stories of pragmatic leaders who collectively stepped outside of their party lines to do what they thought was the right thing, changing the course of history for the better.

But what the history books don’t always capture is the difficulty of those moments when leaders are standing at a crossroads, choosing between the easy path and the right path.

I believe we find ourselves at that moment today. We are standing at a crossroads.

Tennesseans are asking us to set aside politics and personal pride. They are depending on us to do the right thing. 

Since the tragedy at Covenant, we’ve worked with the General Assembly to pass our school safety legislation by wide bipartisan margins.

I signed an Executive Order to make sure that law enforcement, the judicial system, and mental health professionals are sharing information effectively, so the background check process works like it should.

I also called on legislators to come together and find a solution for the most difficult challenge of all. 

We all agree that dangerous, unstable individuals who intend to harm themselves or others should not have access to weapons. And that should be done in a way that requires due process and a high burden of proof, supports law enforcement and punishes false reporting, enhances mental health support, and preserves the Second Amendment for law-abiding citizens. 

Tennesseans agree with this. Legislators agree with this. Second Amendment advocates agree with this.

And so, throughout the last couple of weeks, I have worked with members of the General Assembly – constitutionally minded, second amendment protecting members – to craft legislation for an improved Order of Protection Law that will strengthen the safety and preserve the rights of Tennesseans.

To be specific, I’m proposing that we improve our state’s law so that it protects more Tennesseans and reaches more individuals who are struggling and in need of mental health support.

There is broad agreement that this is the right approach. It should be that simple…but sadly, it’s not.

Political groups began drawing their battle lines before the bill was even completed.

These are the moments for which the people of Tennessee elected us to listen and to act. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it is possible when we’re talking about the safety of our children, our teachers and innocent lives.

The only thing standing in our way is politics – on both sides of the aisle.

National politicians and pundits – even the White House – are calling our proposal something that it’s not. “Red flag” is nothing but a toxic political label meant to draw lines in the sand so nothing gets done. This is about Tennessee and the unique needs of our people. It should be reviewed on its own merits – not lumped in with laws from other states, many of which, I believe, don’t strike the right balance of preserving rights and protecting society.

And some advocates of the Second Amendment say something called “involuntary commitment” is the answer, but that would restrict all kinds of constitutional rights, including the Second Amendment. It’s not the best way.

Efforts like the ones I just mentioned don’t deliver the right results. They don’t actually preserve the constitutional rights of Tennesseans in the best way possible, and they don’t actually get to the heart of the problem of preventing tragedies.

This is hard. I’ve said that all along.

But in Tennessee right now, if a husband threatens to hurt his wife, an Order of Protection would temporarily restrict his access to weapons to protect the spouse.

If that same man threatens to shoot himself or a church or a mall, our proposal will provide that same level of protection to the broader public.

We have a proven solution that gets to the heart of the problem – an improved Order of Protection law to save lives and preserve the Second Amendment.

This is a pivotal moment. But both sides are at risk of standing in the way of a thoughtful, practical solution.

Why?

Politics. Division.

But we cannot give up. We cannot shy away from the hard decisions.

And so, once again, I’m asking the General Assembly to take a vote on this improved Order of Protection proposal before they end the legislative session.

We owe Tennesseans a vote.

The tragedy at Covenant didn’t create the problem. Rather, it has shown – more clearly than ever before – that we can do more to protect students, teachers, communities and Constitutional rights.

This moment doesn’t have to be defined by tragedy alone. It can also be defined by hope – and results.

We’ve done this before – the Governor’s office working together with the legislature to rise above politics and lead through division…to search our hearts and do that which I believe Tennesseans have elected us to do.

Tennesseans are depending on us.

I believe we live in the greatest state in the country, and this is our chance to show it once again.