A slew of new bills have been introduced by Tennessee legislators ahead of the special session of the General Assembly that begins on Monday.
State Representative Mark Cochran (R-Englewood) (pictured above, right) introduced HB 7016 on Wednesday, which creates criminal penalties for “recklessly, by any means of communication, threatening to commit an act of mass violence,” and “requires the court to determine whether a defendant charged with threatening to commit an act of mass violence is a threat to the public prior to release on bail.”
HB 7017 was introduced by State Representative Anthony Davis (D-Davidson County), which would stiffen criminal penalties for victims of stalking but creates a hate crime if someone stalks an abortion doctor.
The summary says the bill “increases the penalty by one classification for the offenses of stalking, aggravated stalking, or especially aggravated stalking if the offense was committed because of the victim’s status as a healthcare provider who performs abortions and classifies the offense as a hate crime.”
Another bill filed by Davis (pictured above, left), HB 7018 creates tougher criminal penalties for the same crimes, specifically in regards to doctors who perform sex change surgeries.
HB 7019 and HB 7020, also introduced by Davis, would make it a Class B felony to commit an act of mass violence against doctors who perform sex change surgeries or abortions, respectively. It would also make the punishment for those crimes heavier than typical class B felonies.
David also introduced HB 7021 and HB 2022, creating a Class E felony for “threatening to commit an act of mass violence against another; classifies a violation of threats of mass violence as a hate crime, which must be punished one classification higher than otherwise provided, if the defendant threatened to commit the act of mass violence against the other person due to the person’s status as a healthcare provider who performs abortions” in the former bill, and “…due to the other person’s status as a healthcare provider who provides gender-affirming care” in the latter bill.
HB 7023 was introduced by State Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka), allowing law enforcement agencies to assign school resource officers to schools that currently do not have a school resource officer.
State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) introduced HB 7024, which “As introduced, requires each public and private school facility to be equipped with an alarm system to be used in cases of an active shooter; requires the department of education to provide grants to local education agencies and private school operators to cover the cost of the installation and maintenance of the system.”
State Representative Chris Todd (R-Madison County) introduced HB 7025, which broadens the duties of mental health professionals to report communicated threats made by patients.
“This bill amends the duty imposed to provide, instead, that the professional or analyst must take reasonable care to predict, warn of, or take precautions to protect the clearly identified victim, including any category of victims or specific geographic targets, from the service recipient’s planned or potential violent behavior,” according to the bill’s summary.
Finally, State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) introduced HB 7026, which “requires a court that makes mental health adjudications regarding children to enter a standing and continuing order instructing the juvenile court clerk to collect and report certain information regarding children who have been adjudicated as a mental defective or judicially committed to a mental institution within three business days for the purposes of complying with federal law.”
So far, a bill has not been introduced for the special session that directly addresses gun control, despite the fact that Gov. Bill Lee (R) has called for the General Assembly to bring him a bill implementing red flag laws.
“We have shared a proposal with legislators that will improve ‘Order of Protection’ laws to strengthen safety & preserve constitutional rights,” Lee said on April 19. “I’m asking the General Assembly to pass this before they adjourn. It’s time to set aside politics. Tennesseans are depending on us.”
But Zachary spoke with The Tennessee Star by email earlier this week and said that Lee is not calling for red flag laws.
“The Governor is not pushing any type of gun control legislation nor is he pushing red flag legislation,” he said by email. “I was on the legislative task force the Governor pulled together to discuss options. He never once brought up or asked us to support a red flag law during the 3 meetings we discussed specific topics.”
“Even if a Democrat decides to bring red flag legislation, it would be voted down in our sub-committee,” he said. “I will vehemently oppose any red flag/[extreme risk protection order] proposals that may be brought during special session. It is important for Tennesseans to remember that the call for special session does not allow for gun control measures that the left would look to propose.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
What a waste of Tennessee Tax dollars!!!!
What Bill has anyone submitted that could not be debated & voted on in a regular session? Or that would have prevented the Covenant killer from coming into an unprotected school to murder innocent people.
She knew she would be killed by cops, if she murdered a few people. She selected Suicide by Cops, more than likely bc she didn’t have the courage to kill herself. She was being counseled by someone who should have known she was a danger to herself & others.
Professionals are all currently required by Federal Law to report a dangerous person to the Police, & order a mandatory 72 hour observation in a psych hospital to determine what steps need to be taken to prevent a tragedy. The recommendation could be that the person be committed to an inpatient mental hospital for months or even years. A court must get a psych report periodically, to determine the person’s ability to function in society without being a threat to society. The only Bills that address anything concerning the Covenant killer are HB7016, HB7023, HB7024, HB7025, & HB7026.
HB 2016 must at least meet the Federal minimum requirements, so should be amended to include that the caregiver by law needs to contact the police to commit the patient to hospitalization for a 72 hrs psych evaluation, and court mandated treatment, periodically reviewed by a court. It also should be amended to include the prosecution of any counselor (could be a Dr, pastor or other) responsible for not reporting a dangerous person to police & have them detained for evaluation. If a person is suicidal, they could also be homicidal. The hospital Dr should review any previous counselor notes, including any Manifestos that the patient has in their possession. That’s the only way to determine whether a person is a danger to society.
If Therapists, Counselors & Doctors are not following the current Federal Law, I don’t know how likely they will follow knew State Laws.
Family members & citizens can call Police to detain someone who is acting out in a threatening manner. This happens sometimes when a person has ingested dangerous drugs like methamphetamine, fentynol & maybe a combination of drugs, which is exactly what happened in the George Floyd situation. Storeowners & bystanders were scared of his behavior, so they called the police. Obviously, from what happened tobthe police who attempted to detain him, it can result in a situation no one could have anticipated.
Governor Lee, you are inviting dangerous people to come to Nashville to PROTEST. Canyon guarantee none of our Legislators or their staff or other citizens in Nashville won’t be harmed bc you promised someone you would do something?
If anyone or any property is damaged, are you going to be held responsible?
What a bunch of garbage. We owe all of this stench to Mr. Lee – the RINO governor.
The democrats have introduced their re-written red flag laws.
There are no democrats. There are no republicans There is no right and no left.
They are no more than the wings of the socialist uniparty.
Those that cry the loudest are no more than what they cry out against.
None of these bills require an extraordinary session! How much time and money is being wasted due this this “urgent” meeting? How much unnecessary national media attention will be focused upon this circus side show?
All of this nonsense could, and should, have waited until the ordinary session.
Let the mayhem begin. The media and Democrat crazies are going to be having a ball in Nashville this week. They need a Special Session dedicated to ending the political violence the media and elected officials subject the public to.