NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After months of speculation and debate, it's official. Tennessee lawmakers won't even consider legislation that would allow a judge to remove weapons from someone posing as a threat to themselves or others.
This comes after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called on lawmakers to pass an Extreme Risk Protection Order, also known as a Red Flag Law, for several months.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally was one of just a handful of Republicans who showed support for the Red Flag Law, but now he's waiving the white flag on the measure. "I continue to support it, it won’t be an item that’s discussed in special session though," said Lt. Gov. McNally. "I think the votes aren’t there."
Additionally, the way Gov. Lee worded the official call for a special session prevents gun control bills from being introduced. "We’re not going to pass the enhanced orders of protection -- no gun bills can be passed," said Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton.
Instead, McNally and Sexton hope to focus on mental health reforms. Sexton says he's backing legislation that would add beds to mental health facilities, require physicians to notify law enforcement when a patient poses a threat to themselves or others, and make it easier to commit individuals both voluntarily and involuntarily.
"There’s a lot of gray area, we want to clean up that gray area to make it very clear that if someone is going to harm themselves or others, or society, and makes those threats, there is a duty to warn mental health, law enforcement," explained Sexton, a Republican from Crossville.
Sexton thinks involuntary committal could have made a big difference in preventing the Covenant shooter from purchasing her weapons. "She could have been committed for a little bit to be observed and that would have, in the system, limited her ability to purchase guns and limit what she did," said Sexton.
But Democrats call the move hypocritical. "You want to hospitalize someone or criminalize someone and incarcerate them against their will rather than just simply removing firearms from their home?" said Rep. John Ray Clemmons, House Democratic Caucus Chair, in an interview Wednesday with NewsChannel 5.
Not only are Democrats against many of the Republican-backed measures, they're frustrated the gun control legislation they wanted to file, won't be allowed.
Speaker Sexton wasn't exactly sympathetic. "They’re just upset because their ideas didn’t get put in because we don’t believe they will fix anything," he said.
Sexton says he also supports hardening schools against mass shooters, charging individuals who make threats of violence, strengthening TBI background checks, and increasing sentencing against juvenile offenders.
