Aug. 21 (UPI) — Tennessee’s House and Senate will gavel in for a special session Monday to discuss mental health and gun policy, months after six people, including three children, were killed in a school shooting in Nashville.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee is expected to present his legislative and budget priorities when the session begins at 4 p.m. CDT.
“As our nation faces evolving public safety threats, Tennessee remains vigilant and is taking continued action to protect communities while preserving the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens,” Lee said in a statement.
“In the months leading up to the public safety special session, we have listened to Tennesseans and worked with members of the General Assembly to identify thoughtful, practical measures to strengthen public safety across our state, including steps to support law enforcement, address mental health, prevent violent crime and stop human trafficking.”
Lee will propose several items to the legislature. Chief among them is the codification of Executive Order 100. This would require all firearms dealers to make buyer information available in the Tennessee Instant Check System for background checks or report to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation within 72 hours.
Lee is proposing measures to promote safe firearm storage, such as eliminating taxes on firearm safes and other safety devices, as well as providing free gun locks.
He is asking the federal government to match funding for Medicaid for mental health and substance abuse services and his budget priorities include efforts to train and retain mental health professionals.
John Harris, executive director of the Tennessee Firearms Association, has been among the loudest critics of gun reform in the nation. He has been especially critical of Lee and the special session.
“Gov. Lee made clear he wanted to call the special session to pass gun control legislation — at least that is what he said publicly,” Harris wrote in an email from his organization. “Ostensibly, the extraordinary occasion was as a response to the Covenant School murders. But, is that really an extraordinary occasion constitutionally? Clearly no.”
Guns have become the leading cause of death among children in the United States, with a 42% increase in firearm-related deaths from 2018 to 2021.
More than 200 bills have been filed in the Tennessee House and Senate — both controlled by Republicans — for the special session. Proposals include training requirements for gun licensing, handgun carrying policies for private schools and policies for responding to fire alarms activated in the presence of an active shooter.
A crowd gathered outside the Capitol in Nashville hours ahead of the session, including demonstrators in support of and opposition to new gun safety measures. Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, tweeted that members of the Proud Boys are among those demonstrating against the bills.
This was outside the capitol today. So this is how the special session is going to go this week in Tennessee? Oh ok. pic.twitter.com/icFmx9Pxov— State Representative Antonio Parkinson (@TNRepParkinson) August 21, 2023
Moms Demand Action, a nonprofit organization that advocates for policies to curb gun violence, also had a presence outside of Capitol.
“Our message: If Tennessee lawmakers won’t take meaningful action to prevent gun violence in our schools and communities, we will replace them with those who will,” the organization tweeted.
NOW: Our volunteers have converged on the Tennessee statehouse as lawmakers hold a special session on public safety.
Our message: If Tennessee lawmakers won’t take meaningful action to PREVENT gun violence in our schools and communities, we will replace them with those who will…. pic.twitter.com/ghMWrUuUAL— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) August 21, 2023
The March 27 shooting at the Covenant School sparked tense debates on the floors of the state House and Senate, resulting in the expulsion of two Democratic lawmakers for protesting inside the Capitol. Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville and Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis were swept back into the House in a special election earlier this month.
Pearson, Jones and Rep. Gloria Johnson faced expulsion in April after taking to the House well with a megaphone to call for gun reform after the school shooting. While Pearson and Jones — both Black — were expelled, Johnson — a White woman — was not.
