NASHVILLE — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday appealed to state lawmakers on a bipartisan basis to "set aside politics and personal pride" and pass an "extreme risk" order of protection measure intended to keep firearms away from people who pose a threat to others.
"We are standing at a crossroads," the governor said in a video seeking to draw in the public as he works to persuade fellow Republicans in the GOP-led General Assembly to approve the measure following the March 27 shooting deaths of six people, three of them children, at a Christian elementary school in Nashville by a former student police said had mental health problems.
"Tennesseans are asking us to set aside politics and personal pride," the governor said. "They are depending on us to do the right thing."
The governor said that since the shootings at The Covenant School, his administration has worked with the General Assembly to pass "our school safety legislation by wide bipartisan margins."
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"This is a pivotal moment," Lee said. "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."
Lee first began calling for an order of protection measure more than a week after the shootings.
Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally issued a release saying lawmakers should take action.
"Our Second Amendment rights, given to us by God and secured by our Constitution, are paramount to maintaining a free republic," his statement said. "Law-abiding gun owners make our society safer and serve as a check against tyranny. Those rights and that freedom is put in danger when those who should not have access to firearms use them to murder our citizens.
"Making sure the mentally ill and those in crisis do not have access to firearms while protecting the Second Amendment rights of everyone else is no easy task," McNally added. "It is an extremely delicate balance. I believe that balance has been struck with this proposed temporary mental health order of protection. Other states that have attempted this balance have fallen short to one extent or another by failing to provide real due process and protect against false complaints."
McNally said there will be no provision for one-sided actions to take guns.
"The subject will be notified and has the opportunity to defend themselves," McNally said. "The subject will have access to a free court-appointed attorney or can retain the counsel of their choice."
McNally also said anyone who is "determined" to make a false or "frivolous report" would be guilty of aggravated perjury, a felony.
"Most important," McNally said, "is the temporary nature of the order. These orders will not be indefinite. When they expire, guns are returned and the order cannot be held against the subject in the future. I have been supportive of this concept in the past, and I am continuing to work with Gov. Lee and my colleagues in the General Assembly towards this goal."
The shooting has resulted in children, teens, parents and others flocking to the Capitol and urging lawmakers do something. It also prompted an unauthorized floor demonstration by two freshman Black representatives and a white lawmaker.
Republicans expelled the two Black lawmakers, Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis, while white representative Gloria Johnson, a Knoxville Democrat, escaped being ejected by one vote. It made national news, creating a tsunami of negative coverage and a huge following on social media for all three lawmakers. Jones and Pearson were reappointed by local county commissions and have since returned.
On Tuesday, nationally known musicians Sheryl Crow and Amy Grant and other entertainers came to the Capitol and lobbied for action.
Lee said the shootings 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," Lee said. "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," Lee said. "I believe we live in the greatest state in the country, and this is our chance to show it once again."
The effort comes a day after the National Rifle Association came out strongly against any legislation on Tuesday, issuing an alert to the powerful organization's members and followers.
"URGENT ACTION NEEDED — Oppose 'Red Flag' Gun Confiscation Orders," the alert said, going on to charge that extreme risk protection orders would turn Second Amendment rights into a "second class right."
The governor’s effort came under criticism from House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons of Nashville, who said in a statement, “I appreciate the governor finally engaging on this important issue, but Lee has unsurprisingly handed us a watered-down bill.
“It reads as if he is more concerned about getting all 75 Republicans’ votes on a bill than effectively protecting children and Tennessee families from gun violence. Tennesseans deserve leadership and courage on this issue from their elected leaders.
"Unfortunately, neither are coming from the other side of the aisle, and they should be held accountable for that.”
In the Senate, Democrats were more amenable.
Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, and Democratic Caucus Chairwoman London Lamar, D-Memphis, called on Senate GOP leadership to act quickly to consider the proposal.
“We urge Republican leadership to put the governor’s order of protection legislation in a committee for immediate consideration. Tennessee students and families are desperate for solutions to stop gun violence and they deserve a public debate – and vote – before this session ends,” they said.
The Tennessee Firearms Association, meanwhile, charged in a new release that Lee is calling for an “unconstitutional Red Flag in the last days of legislative session.”
The group said the 13-page bill would “substantially change” state criminal and mental health codes to implement a “Red Flag” law.”
Noting the amendment released Wednesday doesn’t indicate which bills would be amended, the sponsors, when the bill would be heard or give persons outside government to review and then comment on or oppose the legislation.
“It is the typical move of a tyrant,” the Tennessee Firearms Association charged.
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-285-9480.