NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — What's more important than "protecting our children and their right to life?"
That's the question being posed by a mother who lost a child in The Covenant School shooting as Tennessee lawmakers prepare to return to a special session that, legislative sources acknowledge, may fall short of the Covenant families' expectations.
Katy Dieckhaus, mother of 9-year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus, recorded her emotional message in a video posted by the advocacy group Voices for a Safer Tennessee.
"On March 27, 2023, our lives were forever changed by simply dropping our girls off at school, a place where Evelyn loved to learn, strengthen her faith and where her life was taken by a troubled person who easily accessed multiple firearms, turning our whole world and family upside down," Dieckhaus says, looking into the camera, tears in her eyes.
"Beginning Aug. 21, Tennessee lawmakers will decide whether to pass responsible firearms safety laws that will work toward protecting our children and their right to life.
"What's more important?
Gov. Bill Lee has proposed an Extreme Risk Protection Order — or ERPO — law to take guns away from mentally unstable individuals. That's what's also known as a red-flag law.
But legislative leaders say that bill will probably not make it out of the Republican supermajority's committee process.
So what are they looking at?
NewsChannel 5 Investigates has learned that there is an agreement to making a generalized threat of mass violence — saying you're going to shoot up a school, for example, without necessarily naming a target — a felony.
That could allow the individual to be forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and give up their guns.
There's an agreement for lowering the legal threshold somewhat for involuntarily committing someone for a psychiatric evaluation if it's believed they could be a threat to others.
In addition, there will be a proposal to beef up the system for courts reporting convictions and other incidents that might keep a dangerous person from purchasing a weapon.
And Republicans would like to strengthen laws requiring mental health professionals to report patients where they have fears that the person is on the verge of committing an act of violence.
In addition, Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, tells NewsChannel 5 that he will bring a bill to expand Medicaid in Tennessee to provide mental health coverage to individuals who right now cannot afford health insurance.
"I promise you, there is not a person within two degrees of you that is not affected by someone close to them that's having mental health issues — and that says something," Parkinson said.
"And so we have an opportunity to get 320,000 more people mental health coverage if we take a real look at this novel idea of expanding Medicaid for mental health coverage."
One legislative source says Gov. Lee may get behind that idea.
Lee is expected to officially issue his call for the special session possibly next week.
That's when we'll likely get a better idea of what else he plans to propose.
SPECIAL SECTION: Revealed
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