Tennessee GOP Governor Calls For New Gun Restrictions After Nashville Shooting

Topline

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed an executive order Tuesday to strengthen the state’s background check process for purchasing firearms and encouraged lawmakers to pass a “red flag” law that would prohibit dangerous people from owning guns, in the wake of a deadly school shooting in Nashville last month—one year after Lee said he would not support tighter gun laws.

Gov. Bill Lee responds to questions during a news conference Tuesday.

Key Facts

The executive order requires all crimes to be reported to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation within 72 hours, after which they are “accurately, completely and timely” processed into the state’s background check system.

The state investigative service is also required to examine the state’s process for firearms purchases and submit a report listing any needed changes to both Lee and the state legislature within 60 days.

Lee called on the state’s GOP-controlled legislature to pass a “new, strong” order of protection law—also referred to as “red flag” laws—that would prevent people who pose a threat to themself or others from owning firearms.

Lee, who said new restrictions would “give the people of Tennessee what they deserve,” indicated last year he would not support restricting firearms or strengthening gun control laws after two previous mass shootings in the state.

Crucial Quote

“We should set aside politics and pride” and take steps to prevent future gun violence, Lee said in a press conference Tuesday at the Midtown Hills police station in Nashville, which responded to the shooting at Covenant School last month.

What To Watch For

Lee called on lawmakers to agree on an order of protection bill before the General Assembly closes its legislative session, which is expected to end in a few weeks.

Surprising Fact

Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would prevent people who pose “a significant danger of causing personal injury to the person or others” from owning firearms, though a vote to approve the bill was delayed in both the House and Senate.

Key Background

Calls for gun reform in Tennessee have increased in recent weeks in the wake of the Covenant School mass shooting last month, which resulted in the deaths of three children and three adults. But the GOP-led legislature has pushed against tighter gun laws in the past, after Democrats first introduced a “red flag” bill in 2020. Two Democratic members of the state House—Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson—were expelled from the legislature by their Republican colleagues last week for participating in a gun reform protest at the state Capitol that House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) said broke “rules of decorum and procedure.” Jones was reinstated to his House seat on Monday by local officials in Nashville, and officials in Memphis will consider returning Pearson to the legislature on Wednesday.