Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he will take action on guns by signing an executive order to strengthen background checks for firearms purchases and called on state lawmakers to pass an order of protection bill aimed at keeping guns away from those deemed dangerous.
Speaking at a press conference in Nashville on Tuesday, Lee said that efforts to prevent gun violence are necessary after last month’s shooting at a private Christian elementary school that killed three students and three staff members.
“The truth is that we’re facing evil itself, and we can’t stop evil, but we can do something,” Lee said, according to The Hill. “When there is a clear need for action, I think that we have an obligation, and I certainly do, to remind people that we should set aside politics and pride and accomplish something that the people of Tennessee want to see get accomplished.”Two of the adult victims of the shooting at The Covenant School were longtime family friends of the governor. Substitute teacher Cindy Peak and the school’s headmistress Katherine Koontz had been friends with Lee’s wife, Maria, for decades.
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Orders of protection limit contact between victims and those who are harassing or harming them; Lee said individuals who have shown they are a “real threat” to themselves or others should not possess a firearm.
“I’m asking the General Assembly to bring forward an order of protection law,” Lee told reporters, according to The Tennessean. “A new strong order of protection law will provide the broader population cover, safety, from those who are a danger to themselves or the population.”“I believe this will protect victims, that it will hold dangerous people accountable and away from firearms and that it’ll preserve constitutional rights at the same time,” he said.
The Republican will also sign an executive order that creates a 72-hour clock for reporting new criminal activity and mandates courts submit timely information to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The bureau will be responsible for analyzing the current process for information sharing and reporting on operational barriers within 60 days.“This executive order along with a new stronger order of protection law will provide that next step in making sure that our communities are a safer place to live,” Lee said.
In the aftermath of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last year, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which provides federal funding for states to enact red flag laws that allow someone to petition a court to remove an individual’s firearms if they pose a threat.
President Joe Biden announced $231 million in federal funding in February for states to enact red flag laws and other crisis intervention programs.
