Tennesee Special Legislative Session Ends Without New Gun Laws

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Facts

• Tennessee’s special legislative session ended Tuesday without any significant changes to the state’s gun laws despite the efforts of advocates months after the worst school shooting in the state’s history.¹
• Republican Gov. Bill Lee had called the special session on public safety to reform the state’s gun laws in response to the March killing of three students and three adults at Nashville’s Covenant School.²
• Lee’s goal of passing a “red flag” law and other public safety measures was rejected by Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the state’s general assembly and view such laws as threats to citizens’ Second Amendment rights.³
• At the close of the session, a brief scuffle broke out when Democrats Justin Pearson and Justin Jones — Black legislators who won back their seats after being expelled from the body during the contentious debate over gun laws in April — confronted House Speaker Cameron Sexton.⁴
• Previously, Republicans voted to prevent Jones from speaking on or debating bills Monday for what they called a violation of newly enacted rules.⁵
• The special session produced an extension of a tax break for gun safes and a free gun lock program, stronger background checks, and a law requiring the state Bureau of Investigation to conduct an annual study of human trafficking.⁶

Sources: ¹The Tennessean, ²New York Times, ³Reuters, ⁴FOX News, ⁵Associated Press and ⁶Washington Post.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by The Independent. Even a school shooting that resulted in the deaths of innocent children couldn’t get Republicans, who are heavily supported by gun lobbyists, to pass the type of common-sense gun laws that can make communities safer. Even worse, Republicans in Tennessee continue to do what they can to stifle opposition speech. Tennessee needs better representation to stand up to lethal gun violence.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Always in a hurry to exploit a tragedy to advance their assault on the Second Amendment, Democrats were again advocating for laws — namely a so-called “red flag” law — that would have done nothing to stop the Covenant shooter. Most gun restrictions are useless in the face of criminals and mentally unstable people who will stop at nothing to commit an egregious act. The Tennessee legislature did what it could to make the state safer within the Constitution.