Tennessee’s Democrat elected officials will embark upon a statewide bus tour to discuss gun violence, which will end at the state capitol on the first day of the August special session on gun control.
“I’m here to announce a statewide effort that we are spearheading,” said Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville), the Democrat caucus chair in a Monday morning press conference. “You know, too often we state legislators spend a great deal of time up here in the state capitol spinning our wheels about important issues. But today I’m announcing that my colleagues and I are putting some wheels on the road and heading out across the state to personally hear from and speak with Tennessee families on this important matter.”
Clemmons, flanked by State Sens. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) and Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville), said that Democrat elected officials in the state want to hear from Tennesseans regarding their questions, concerns and objections when it comes to gun control legislation.
“Gun violence is a personal issue to the families who are impacted by this,” he said. It’s a personal issue to the communities who are impacted by gun violence. And so we want, and we need to have personal conversations in their own communities, and we’re gonna do that across the state of Tennessee.”
Citing Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s call to implement gun control measures, including red flag laws, Clemmons said that gun control should not be a partisan issue.
“I’m here to personally invite Gov. Bill Lee, the First Lady, [and] every one of my GOP colleagues, to get on the bus,” he said. “Advocacy groups, parents, victims, faith leaders, teachers, everyone is invited, because this impacts all of us.”
The Tennessee Star recently reported an uptick in new out-of-state gun control activist groups popping up across the state, including lobbyists from the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund and a nonprofit called Voices for a Safer Tennessee.
Clemmons said there will be up to eight statewide stops for events, and that the bus will stop in numerous other rural and suburban communities. The tour will begin next week in Memphis, and will work its way east, according to Clemmons, finishing on the first day of the special session in Nashville, which is August 21.
“Our last stop will be right here at the state capitol, on the first day of the special session,” he said.
He said the schedule for the bus’ stops will be announced in the upcoming days.
The microphone was then turned over to Oliver.
“Gun violence should not be a major disruption to our lives, to our schools, to our churches, because this is the time to act,” she said. “The Democrats have been, you know, we’ve been leading on this issue for a long time. It’s not new. What is new is the opportunity to turn tragedy into policy action. That’s the opportunity before us. The Covenant families want collaboration. They want peace. And so do we.”
Oliver said that the state should not allow people who are a danger to themselves to obtain firearms, which is the core idea behind the red flag laws peddled by Lee and Democrats.
Campbell, currently lagging in the polls in Nashville’s mayoral race, did not speak.
Tennessee’s Republican legislators have said that they will not consider red flag legislation.
“Any red flag law is a non-starter for House Republicans,” they said on Twitter in April. “Our caucus is focused on finding solutions that prevent dangerous individuals from harming the public and preserve the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. We have always been open to working with Governor Lee on measures that fit within that framework.”
When Clemmons took questions at the end of the press conference, he was asked why Democrats should spend money on a bus tour if Republicans have already made up their minds.
Clemmons responded curtly.
“This isn’t about politics,” he said. “This is about doing what the people of Tennessee want and deserve. So I don’t care what they’ve said. They should be going out there and asking for the people’s blessings and asking for their forgiveness for standing in the way of progress and public safety.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Image “Democratic Caucus Press Conference” by Tennessee House Democratic Caucus.
While I am sorry Governor Lee and his wife lost a friend in the Covenant School shooting, the special session on gun control laws is a waste of taxpayer money. We have adequate gun laws; they are not being enforced. Criminals do not receive proper punishment for crimes involving guns that they usually obtain illegally. Red flag laws can be abused. We need to allow our law enforcement officers to perform their jobs with our support and for the justice system to adequately punish criminals. Liberals never let a tragedy go to waste to advance their desire to take guns away from law abiding citizens.
And WHO is footing the bill for this tour. Probably some anti-gun billionaire. Well Tennesseans…..lets give em what they want…..our opinion. The answer to gun violence is not less guns it is more guns. Only law abiding citizens will end up being hurt while criminals who do not follow the law will get guns and now be able to take advantage of those that are unarmed. Look at every city that has strict gun laws….open your dang eyes and look. The violence is sky high. The recent school shooting was done at that location because the shoote said she knew there was no protection at the school. We need armed personnel in our schools and means teachers too. We need to start rebuilding the family unit because that is the main reason we have so much mental illness today. We need to have one way into a school while in session and no one comes in unless they are escorted by an armed escort. Time to get smart and protect our children from the mentally ill people not set good people up to be killed. This is political. They don’t really care about people being shot they have an anti-2nd Amendment, anti-American agenda that puts a ton of campaign dollars in their pockets from left wing contributors that know until American are unarmed they will never be able to control us. STAND UP, SPEAK OUT and let these leftist elected know we will not comply with any red flag law or any restrictions on our rights. Knowing these cowards they will only go to the neighborhoods where they know the brainwashed leftists reside so they can say everyone they met wants red flag laws. Take your bus to Polk County TN and see how warmly you are greeted.
The “tour” should start and stay in Shelby County.
ANYONE not supporting the MAGA Agenda to save the greatest nation in history from the greatest demon possessed evil in civilized history is either a co-conspirator or a useful idiot. To be a supporter of the Marxist Dem Party, much less a Marxist Dem politician, is even worse…
They must have some tax dollars. Burning Holes in their pockets.
Shootings occur in gun free zones, and only and gun-free zones. It just seems a big waste of money to spend for a group of people, they’re per diem, they’re motels, the gas, the travel, the food,, and all that when all you need to do is have good people with guns in those schools.
And that’s a fact. Jack ‼️
You have to wonder how much corporate money Gov. Lee took to collaborate with these communist pigs. We need to get quite SERIOUS about the next governor because state and federal friction is about to increase dramatically.
By the way, will transgenderism prompt a Red Flag? I bet those on the Clown Bus won’t allow it to do so.
Where is the Covenant shooter’s manifesto? Who is funding this Commie waste of time and diesel? Who owns Bill Lee’s tiny cojones? We the People want to know!
“Gun violence” does not exist. Guns are inanimate objects that only function in the hands of humans. Violence is in the heart of the person pulling the trigger.
Republicans had the opportunity to do everything needed during the last regular session. Now they are going to facilitate a Democrat political event with the special session. The best Republicans can hope for is that the Democrats, as usual, will overplay the opportunity with hysterics and lawlessness. This is unlikely. The media will clean up and apologize for any excesses from their minions.
This is not the first unforced error by Bill Lee. Previously, he helped fund the packing of the Williamson County Schools Board of Education with liberal pro-Mike Loney candidates.
Take your commie bus tour to Commiefornia. Gun laws are only for law abiding citizens and we don’t need anymore. Seems to me criminals aren’t in the habit of purchasing their guns or anything else legally. Unfortunately, I live in CA & don’t want to see the evil spread into
amazing states like Tennessee!
Democrats are all about the show and the mouthing when they don’t get their twisted little way
We have known for a long time what the true agenda is.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/08/confiscation_why_isnt_the_far_left_honest_about_their_end_game_on_guns.html
And no amount of induced guilt, fear, or outright lying is going to fool anyone with any common sense. Any democrat who doesn’t believe that this is the true end game is a damn fool.
It must be a short bus.
Must be a short bus.
Okay, to the democrat representatives “spinning their wheels”, are you on tour to seek input or concurrence? I doubt it is input. Let me give you some input here. Gun control laws are already on the books but are not uniformly enforced. The police aren’t supported, the prosecuting court officer are often lazy and do not litigate cases. Woke judges fail to render decisions that truly punish the offender. No new laws are needed, enforce what is already there. Logically, those who break the law committing crimes with a weapon are not going to abide by yet another law placed on the books.