Governor Bill Lee (R) confirmed to reporters on Monday that he does not intend to ask the Tennessee General Assembly to pass red flag legislation during the upcoming legislative session, effectively abandoning the push he began in April.
Lee told reporters he would not ask legislators to pass a bill he previously proposed that would allow for judges to sign orders for authorities to confiscate the firearms of a person deemed to be at risk, otherwise known as a red flag law.
“I’m not looking to bring that bill,” Lee told reporters, instead adding that he is instead “looking for an opportunity” to “continue to work on public safety” when the legislative session begins on January 9.
Lee originally asked the Tennessee General Assembly to pass a red flag law on April 19, citing the Covenant School shooting.
“We have shared a proposal with legislators that will improve ‘Order of Protection’ laws to strengthen safety & preserve constitutional rights,” Lee said in a video posted to social media in April. “I’m asking the General Assembly to pass this before they adjourn. It’s time to set aside politics. Tennesseans are depending on us.”
After his attempt failed in the regular legislative session, Lee did not push red flag laws during the special legislative session called over the summer.
Before the special session, State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) told The Tennessee Star that Lee “never once brought up or asked us to support a red flag law during the three meetings we discussed specific topics” when planning. Zachary added that “if a Democrat decides to bring red flag legislation, it would be voted down in our subcommittee,” and pledged he would “vehemently oppose” any “red flag/[extreme risk protection order] proposals” during the special session.
A number of elected officials, including Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, urged legislators to pursue a red flag law during the special session, and a bill was ultimately introduced by State Representative Bob Freeman (D-Nashville), with State Senator Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) introducing its counterpart in the Tennessee Senate. The bill was not passed before the special session adjourned and did not become law.
State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) credited the Republican supermajority in Tennessee for motivating Lee to drop the legislation in a statement to WATE, saying despite Lee’s interest in passing a red flag law, most Tennessee Republicans are “unwilling to engage on that level.”
Still, Behn claimed to the outlet that Tennessee voters “want change” and asserted that “thoughts and prayers aren’t cutting it for the Tennessee people” before challenging Lee to bring the red flag law “forward again,” predicting the governor “will have more people show up in support of him.”
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bill Lee” by Bill Lee.
Criminals Do Not Abide By Laws. They use firearms that they have either stolen, or bought one out of the trunk of a car that was stolen by another criminal.
You dont have to reinvent the wheel to cut down on gun crime. Rudy Juliani, America’s Mayor, had it right when he was Mayor of New York. Stop & Frisk is proven tried & true, when a patrolman sees a suspicious vehicle, Do traffic stop. Many times the car is stolen, or illegal drugs & stolen weapons are present, & sometimes might be a terrorist here illegally, or sex trafficker. A lot of crimes can be aborted with just a traffic stop. Maybe if the black criminal who thought it was OK to shoot a beautiful young college student, who was no danger to him, had been detained, prosecuted & convicted of the many prior crimes, that he just got a slap on the hand, he would not be around to kill innocent people.
I don’t buy that he isn’t mentally capable to stand trial. He murdered a young woman. Anyone who murders probably has a screw loose. Stop making excuses & be honest. DE I (DIVERSITY. EQUITY & INCLUSION) is the Policy that our government is using to decide whether to lock murderers up or not. Meaning, just by being Black, you are oppressed & therefore are not responsible for your actions. But if you’re white, you are the oppressor, & your ass is going to jail. It’s pure Racism & Discrimination. UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
PEOPLE WAKE UP. THIS IS NOT JUSTICE. ALL COMMUNITIES NO MATTER WHAT COLOR OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION WANT A REAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. DEI IS A MARXIST IDEOLOGY DESIGNED TO DIVIDE PEOPLE BASED ON SKIN COLOR, ETHNICITY, POLITICAL VIEWS, RELIGION, ETC. ITS A system used to make it easier to create a TOTALITARIAN Form of government.
Educate yourselves on our US Constitution. There’s a reason students are not taught the US Constitution, which next to the Bible, is the most important document that must be protected. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. YOU DONT HAVE LIBERTY VC YOU DESERVE IT. YOU HAVE FREEDOM ONLY IF YOU PROTECT YOUR US Constitution.
UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL.
Just watch out. Lee will try to backdoor some kind of “yellow flag” laws that will have a strong smell of red. The guy is a disaster as it many of the supposed conservative GOP Assembly members.
Common sense prevails. My rights don’t end where your emotions start.
When one side of an argument says, ” It’s time to set aside politics” they are saying, “we want you to drop your stance on an issue and only allow ours”. It is not really about setting aside politics, it is about accepting their political view.
On this guns issue if we were to set aside “politics” (meaning our individual stance on the allowance of guns based upon political viewpoint) , then we would drop all arguments and turn to the US Constitution, specifically the Second Amendment.
This would inform our decisions in lawmaking to support it. Without politics involved, it would seem logical to create laws (if they need to be created at all) to support the proper use and training of “arms”. Along with this would it would definitely be important to teach the value of human life and why taking one should be a last resort used in self-defense.