It’s difficult to pinpoint the most shocking moment of last month’s special session, called by Gov. Bill Lee to address the Covenant School shooting in March, which left three students and three staff dead.
There were the new rules House Republicans implemented to limit internal debate and public participation. Then there was the enforcement of those rules, which led to the removal of gun-reform advocates who were holding signs. There was the subsequent lawsuit that ultimately led to a Davidson County judge blocking the House’s no-signs rule, as well as the moment when Covenant School parents who were planning to testify were kicked out of a committee, along with others, because some people clapped. There was the stalemate between House and Senate Republicans, the moment Democrats left the House floor in protest of Republicans’ silencing of Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and the confrontation between House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) immediately after the House adjourned.
What wasn’t shocking was the fact that the Tennessee General Assembly left the Capitol without passing meaningful legislation to help prevent mass shootings. Members of the Republican supermajority weren’t interested in taking up any such bills — not even extreme-risk protection orders, a form of legislation suggested by fellow Republican Lee. As with regular legislative sessions, all the Democratic superminority could do was highlight their conservative colleagues’ inaction. Rep. Jones also made an unsuccessful attempt to call a vote of no confidence on Speaker Sexton.
Tension between Senate and House Republicans dragged the session out days longer than many anticipated. House Republicans wanted to use it as an opportunity to pass other legislation, including a bill that would allow certain juveniles to receive blended sentencing that could put them in adult prisons. The Senate refused to consider all but four bills, opting to hash out more complex legislation when the body reconvenes in January.
What they did pass doesn’t change much — the legislation lacks enforcement mechanisms or was already being implemented in some capacity. Take, for instance, a bill that encourages safe storage by providing free gun locks to Tennesseans, removing sales tax for safe storage devices, creating a public awareness campaign and emphasizing safe storage in forthcoming firearm training courses. These courses are optional following the permitless carry law passed in 2021, entities including the Metro Nashville Police Department have already been distributing free gun locks, and there’s been a similar sales tax holiday in effect since 2021.
Another bill requires the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to submit a report on human trafficking. The TBI already tracks this information, but the new legislation will require the bureau to organize it into an annual report. The other bill legislators passed codifies an April executive order from Lee that shortens the timeframe in which courts must submit information to the TBI to inform background checks — though courts will not be penalized if they don’t get that information in on time. In response to the April executive order, the TBI published a report that demonstrated the need for a centralized system that enables faster reporting, estimating that more than 700,000 cases were still pending. A bill was filed to create a centralized system but was tabled by the Senate.
Rep. Justin Pearson prays with Covenant families following the end of the special session
A spending bill was passed that allocates $110 million toward school safety, mental health supports and implementation of the safe storage bill. Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) called it “a waste of taxpayer dollars” compared to other actions the legislature could have taken to curb gun violence. Of that money: $1.1 million will pay for the public campaign on safe storage; $10 million will be granted to charter schools and public schools that don’t have school resource officers; $30 million is for higher-education safety grants; $12.1 million provides sign-on and retention bonuses to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and affiliated behavioral health professionals; $3 million provides public behavioral health scholarships; $4 million is reserved for the Behavioral Health Safety Net program, which provides resources to those who have mental health diagnoses without proper insurance to cover them; and $50 million of reverted TennCare funds will support community mental health organizations.
Covenant School parents were present throughout the week, sharing stories of what happened to their children and advocating for and against specific bills. They testified against a bill that would allow more guns on school campuses and supported one that would close the autopsy reports of minors killed in violent crimes and require schools to train on differentiating emergency alarms. They expressed immense disappointment after the session ended with no substantial action — some even hinted at future political campaigns, though nothing has been confirmed yet.
“We need legislators on both sides of the aisle to be able to have respectful, thoughtful debate,” said Covenant parent Sarah Shoop Neumann. “We will work toward ensuring every one of those seats is replaced by someone who has a true desire to listen to their constituents over firearm association lobbyists.”
