Governor Bill Lee issued a proclamation calling for a special legislative session to take up gun-control measures, including a controversial “red flag” bill that many of his GOP allies in the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly say is a non-starter.
The long-expected proclamation was leaked to the liberal Tennessee Lookout late Thursday afternoon before its official release.
Just in: @GovBillLee has issued a proclamation calling for a special legislative session to address topics including safe gun storage, mental health resources & the transfer of juvenile defendants 16 and up to criminal courts- and temporary orders of protection, pic.twitter.com/bcWQXiAh17
— Tennessee Lookout (@TNLookout) August 8, 2023
Lee’s document calls for the General Assembly to convene at 4 p.m. on August 21 to take up myriad public safety issues in the wake of the March 27 mass shooting at the Covenant Presbyterian School, the Nashville private elementary where three 9-year-olds and three staff members were murdered. The shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who identified as a transgender male, was fatally shot by police 14 minutes after she began her deadly attack.
“Whereas, public safety is of prime importance to Tennesseans, and enhancing public safety requires a multi-faceted approach that likewise protects constitutional rights, and Whereas Tennessee and our nation continue to experience acts of mass violence …” the Republican governor wrote in the proclamation calling for the passage of a number of bills.
It’s the protection of constitutional rights that Second Amendment advocates worry about in what they see as a politically-driven special session called by a lame-duck governor who has compromised his conservative values in the name of compromise.
Lee is asking lawmakers to “consider and act upon” legislation regarding, among other topics:
- Mental health resources
- School safety plans or policies
- Health care providers’ duty to warn about potential violent offenses
- Measures encouraging the safe storage of firearms, which do not include the creation of penalties for failing to safely store firearms.
Most alarmingly, Lee wants lawmakers to consider a so-called “red flag” bill, “temporary mental health orders of protection.” Also referred to as “Extreme Risk Protection Orders,” the tools allow the revocation of Second Amendment rights to individuals deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Lee’s proclamation asserts such protection orders must be initiated by law enforcement, must require a due process hearing, and require the individual to undergo an assessment for suicidal or homicidal ideation. Law enforcement would also be required to prove the order is necessary with clear and convincing evidence and that any order be reevaluated at least every 180 days.
“Tennessee will be a safer state as a result of the efforts of the legislation and the legislators who are engaged in the process of this special session on public safety,” Lee said last week.
More than two dozen state lawmakers have voiced opposition to the protective orders, including House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland), Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin), Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), and Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Yager (R-Kingston).
The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition and country music artist John Rich have both objected to the legislation and the August 21 special session.
“The Governor of TN is trying to strong arm Representatives to vote for a ‘rebranded’ Red Flag Law in our state,” Rich wrote in June. “Can you believe that? Just another RINO in sheep’s clothing. This attempt at disarming Tennesseans will fail, I promise you. Share your thoughts and tag: #RedFlagDown”
The Governor of TN is trying to strong arm Representatives to vote for a “rebranded” Red Flag Law in our state. Can you believe that? Just another RINO in sheep’s clothing. This attempt at disarming Tennesseans will fail, I promise you. Share your thoughts and tag: #RedFlagDown
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) June 13, 2023
Sexton recently told the Tennessee Firearms Association that he doesn’t think a risk protection order bill would make it out of committee.
Gun-control groups and liberal activists are preparing to descend on Nashville during the week of the special session, looking to turn a national public spotlight on their efforts to severely limit gun rights. Some are concerned about radical left demonstrations devolving into violence.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition wrote to Lee earlier this summer, asking that the governor cancel the special session and wait until January’s regular session to consider new legislation.
“As you and the public are aware, that heinous act of the murder of six individuals has been politicized by far Left activists and anti-Second Amendment groups funded by Leftist interests, the Biden administration, Marxist agitators in the General Assembly who nearly started a riot over legislatures lack of desire to take away our Second Amendment constitutional rights – namely Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson, and others who wish to make every inroad they can in order to fulfil their ultimate goal of eliminating the constitutional protections that exist in the Second Amendment,” the group wrote in June.
The governor’s proclamation also called for legislation to address human trafficking.
The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition sent a statement to The Tennessee Star strongly supporting that aspect of Lee’s special-called session:
The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition’s primary policy and legislative mission is the eradication of the evil of modern-day slavery that is child and human trafficking.
In short, we fight FOR the life and liberty of all those affected by this scourge. That means children, women, and even men.
As we’ve noted before, while noting certain areas of disagreement on certain other issues, we’ve had very productive meetings with Governor Lee and his staff on this issue, making a mutual commitment to work together in the furtherance of destroying child and human trafficking.
On this point, Governor Lee and his staff could not have been truer to their word and have included in both the call and list of administration legislative priorities an important step in our mutual quest to eradicate child and human trafficking.
We very much appreciate Governor Lee’s efforts in the areas of child and human trafficking, and we look forward to continuing to working with him in the future to stop this scourge.
– – –
M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Bill Lee” by Bill Lee. Background Photo “Tennessee State Senate Chamber” by Antony-22. CC BY-SA 4.0
Lee is a bigger joke than Newsom.
There once was a time that any law if in direct conflict to the Constitution was ruled Null&Void by said Constitution.
However, that very important Document is no longer taught by the CPUSA.
Bill might wish to read and study the papers, laws and Constitutional Rights that bind all Americans together.
Just because he wrote this proclamation doesn’t mean this is what will come out of the session or that this is truly what he proposes. I wouldn’t trust him or the TN assembly as far as I could throw them.
David Blackwell….he is in his 2nd term and therefore cannot run again. I am proud to say I never voted for him either time. I voted for real constitutional conservatives from the Independent party. There is no R or D worth voting for and that is a fact.
Boy, a lot of you seem to be really angry at Gov. Lee. Of course, many of you now have the term limits that you are forever banging on about re: Tennessee governor so Lee is term limited and he doesn’t care how you feel anymore.
Back in 2018 I begged conservatives to vote for Diane Black as the only candidate with conservative credentials who had a chance of winning. Instead, all too many of you liked the pretty ads Lee was running on his way to buying the governorship despite the fact he had no record, and certainly none that indicated he was a conservative.
In 2026 there will be one or more wealthy guys with little or no conservative record who want to buy the governorship too. Have those of you who voted for Lee in 2018 learned anything over the past 5 years?
I have to wonder what Lee’s true motivations are for calling a special session that has no purpose other than to provide a venue for “gun violence” idiots to holler and stomp their feet. Got to have something to do with $$$$.
Little Lee has been a disaster from day one. But that is to be expected from a supposed conservative state GOP organization that supports candidates that are more liberal than conservative.
Impeach Lee! The GOp should throw him out of the party!
Okay TN Republican supermajority, you now have about 10 days to get your legislation together for Lockdown Lee’s 18 topics.
You WILL have your legislation for these 18 topics he just introduced ready in the next 10 days….right?
More evidence Tennesseans are not in control of Tennessee government.
You should let Governor Lee know how you feel. The best way to contact him is through the Tennessee Lookout
There are no written “magic” words that will stop evil in a person. Thou shall not kill is the 6 of 10 Commandments, written in stone, not on paper. Peace.
Undoubtedly social agitators are going to flock to Nashville for “Billy’s Really Big Show”. This will be a boon for Nashville Travel, Lodging, and Entertainment industries. Several events and galas have been scheduled around this venue.
This will be a chance for certain elements to try again to deface and destroy Andy and Rachel Jackson’s Burial Site, as they did once before. I hope they double the guard there against that attempt.
East – West travelers on I-40 are once again advised to take the Nashville Bypass during this period, I-840 (SR-840).
Will transgenderism create a presumption an individual is mentally ill and should be deprived of their guns? If anything should that would, which of course means this clown show never even will consider it. The smart money is a leftwing corporation is behind this nonsense, which in part is to distract from the real issue of transgender mental illness. Load down the legislaton with provisions that require denial of bail for gun crimes, for instance, and you will see in a nanosecond the real intent of the clowns Lee, Johnson, Pearson and Jones.
People on the Right need to look long and hard at why the Tennessee Republican Party continually produces grotesque clowns like Lee, Haslam and Sundquist. We do have sound legislators, to be clear, unless they sign onto this insanity.
I will not vote for “Lock ’em down Lee” again.
There is nothing in this proclamation that could not have waited until the ordinary session.
The purpose of this special session is to increase the amount of money being spent to grow government.
This is nothing more than a pandering move for votes. The laws are already on the books and simply need to be enforced.
ah, lots of things, none of which would have stopped the Covenant shooting. sounds about right for Lee, he is always off the mark.
There are already Federal Laws in place requiring authorities, counselors & citizens to contact Police if an individual is behaving irrationally, & is determined to be a danger to themselves or others. Police must detain that individual & transport him or her to a hospital for a 72 hr evaluation at which time it can be determined if this person is safe to be released. So your proposal is redundant.
The Covenant shooter I understand was receiving counseling, & keeping journals. Question: did her therapist document any suicide ideation or deeply held hatred for someone at the school where she chose to die suicide by cop? What was the Counselors treatment plan for this very disturbed young woman? We deserve to know who was the therapist, & what was her treatment plan. He or she had to know this lady was a powder keg.
The taxpayers have to pay for your SPECIAL SESSION. How much are you spending? I hope you are going to call in our TN National Guard to prevent harm & destruction by the Antifa & BLM Thugs. Unlike Nancy Pelosi who turned down President Trump suggestion that he would provide 10K National Guard for Crowd Control for the Constitutional Jan 6 protest in DC.
Don’t forget Governor Lee, significant numbers of disturbed people use weapons other than guns. Knives, cars, hammers, baseball bats, Tire irons, poison just to name a few. How are you planning to prevent that?
Your Red Flag Law is DOA.
Governor Lee needs to explain why his legislation cannot take place during a normal Legoslative Session. He also needs to expose to the TN taxpayers how much is this ” Special Session” going to cost taxpayers.
I noticed he did not include a Security Plan in his proposal to protect our Legislators & our beautiful Capitol. Lee knows damn well these paid Anarchists are planning to come to Nashville to create as much havoc as possible with the help of the two rogue Legislators that were suspended. You think they might be colluding with the Anarchists? They are thugs who plan to come to intimidate our lawmakers. Governor Lee you are a Lame Duck Governor, not a lawmaker. If you want to make laws get out there in 2024 & run for office. Let’s see how well you do. You have gone Woke & Woke goes Broke.
I hope our General Assembly decides to say NO to Lee. We are not participating in your little Power Trip. We don’t support Tyrants in TN.