Top Tennessee Republican Leadership Appears To Cave Under Liberal Pressure For Gun Control
Image Credit: Andre Porter (imagN Images) / CC
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Top Tennessee Republican leadership appears to be caving under liberal pressure regarding gun control.
Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge-District 5) joins Tennessee Democrats in voicing support for the passage of “red flag” laws in the wake of the Covenant school shooting.
Joining McNally, is House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville-District 25) who also appears open to passing a law that could remove firearms from someone believed to be a danger to themselves or to other people.
However, Senate Judiciary Chair Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga-District 10) has said that his committee will not hear anymore bills related to guns this year.
“This committee is not gonna be turned into a circus by people with other agendas.” Gardenhire said. “The agenda on the table now is respecting the privacy of the victims’ families that were gunned down and let that healing process start.”
Last year, Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order that addressed new school security assessments and funding for a school security plan template, while collaborating with the state fire marshal in security improvements and evaluating the use of armed security guards at private schools.
“Parents need to have full confidence that their children are safe at school, and thankfully, Tennessee has built a firm foundation with our practical approach to securing schools, recognizing crises and providing confidential reporting of any suspicious activity,” Lee said at the time.
After the state fire marshal’s office identified 527 unlocked exterior doors during safety inspections of approximately 1,500 public schools within the state, Lee is supporting proposed legislation which transfers Tennessee’s school safety team from the Department of Education to the Department of Safety.
Lee has voiced concern over the effectiveness of red flag laws in the past, and has focused on effectively securing the state’s public schools.
The current proposal would mandate new safety drills in the absence of students, address training requirements for campus officers – both armed and unarmed – and require updating security features for school buildings that will be constructed or remodeled.
Lee, whose wife Maria personally knew two of the victims who were murdered during the recent shooting, has been in daily meetings with GOP leaders while he looks over school safety proposals.
Sexton has also expressed doubt over whether a red flag law could have prevented the slaying, nevertheless saying that the General Assembly should be open to having a conversation about it. McNally says he would support such a law providing there are safeguards included to protect against false reports.
In a letter to Lee, McNally also listed several action items that he believes the state should address. These include securing windows and glass in school buildings, installing magnetic locks that police and first responders can access in a crisis, modernizing camera systems, and ensuring that all schools – both public and private – have armed guards.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
Kiss your Liberal career good bye. This Red Flag garbage is nothing but back door gun control. No amount of laws on the books is going to stop a deranged idiot from anything!!
We’ll stated, With you Doug!
The problem has never been guns , but the lack of God in our community. In 1964 school pray was removed from our schools, counter cultural was on the rise along with mass shooting. Now our schools look more like prison than halls of education.
The Bolshevik Lein Movement used homosexuals and feminist to destroy the family cultural to bring Communism to Power, then outlawed feminist and homosexuality. Communism replaced God with man and state as the Supreme being. This is what is happening here in America. Our economic system is one based in fascist economic and has been since Woodrow Wilson and even more solidify by Franklin D Roosevelt. If we do not stop this transvestites movements, which fall under homosexuality them we will loose our Republic.
Free-market, very small government, God, family values with fathers in the home, bring back morals and Virtue, and stop voting for liberal fascist either Democrats or RINOS. We the People need to take our country back.
Well said Tpayne. I couldn’t agree with you more. The moral compass of our country is so off point. God has been taken out of every aspect of our lives and immorality is running rampantly through our once great country.
2 CHRONICLES 7:14 KJV
If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.
In God we trust not government or man.
Have a blessed day.
Red Flag Laws are a reasonable compromise and the Extremists need to be reasonable. If the independents all vote for Dems and they win, it will be a LOT worse than Red Flag laws, and we will suffer a lot more than gun restrictions.
Would you say a person who is known to be crazy should b e able to buy a gun? I wouldn’t and no reasonable person would say that.
If you’re unreasonable, we lose. Do you want the Leftists in charge? I don’t.
Not sure where you are a refugee from, but please go back.
Hold the line. This is an obvious take down of the freedoms of Tennessee by outside forces. This woman was insane and imprisoned by a sick, fashionable cult. We must heal our society by educating our youth in faith, history and citizenship. We must keep them away from the cancerous “progressive” ideology and teach them to see through propaganda. Only when we say enough to the sickness of this culture war will we be able to prevent violence.
Senator Todd Gardenhire said it best….”his committee will not be turned into a circus…and the best thing now is to allow the healing process to begin”. These anti-gun folks are shameless, they’ll use any crises, tragedy and death to promote their agenda of total gun control, which has never, is not, nor will they ever work. We all know we have ‘strict’ DUI laws, but drunk people still drive and still, tragedy’s happen. Why aren’t these anti-gun pushers, demanding common sense alcohol control, or better yet, a total alcohol ban? Because they know, banning alcohol won’t stop stupidity, and they should know banning guns won’t stop mental cases, like this latest trans woman from committing heinous crimes. It will only stop good gun carrying citizens from defending their God given rights to protect themselves.
If “they” continue removing GOD from our country, then they won’t need control. They will already have it. Our constitution is based on our GOD given rights. If they succeed in removing GOD, then we will have no rights!!!
Red Flag Laws are NOT reasonable. They can and will be used to arbitrarily take guns from law abiding citizens based solely on the phone call of another person, in some states the person filing the report can do so anonymously. Imagine an angry ex-wife, or ticked off relative, neighbor or co-worker just wanting to cause you anguish and harm, all it takes is a call stating that they fear you are a danger to yourself or others. You will NEVER see your firearms again.