Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) called for the state legislature to pass a red flag law weeks after the Nashville Christian school shooting.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, red flag laws allow courts to prevent people who show signs of being a danger to themselves or others from accessing firearms.
In 1999, Connecticut became the first state in the U.S. to enact a red flag law, which did not prevent the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting from occurring on Dec. 14, 2012.
“I’m asking the General Assembly to bring forward an order of protection law. 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,” Lee said, according to The Tennessean.
“This is our moment to lead and to give the people of Tennessee what they deserve,” Lee added.
JUST IN: Governor Bill Lee from Tennessee will be signing an Executive Order focused on making background checks for the purchase of firearms more thorough, and he will be asking state legislators to pass a red flag law preventing guns from being held by dangerous individuals.… pic.twitter.com/R0O99eh7mD
— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) April 11, 2023
Politico reported that Lee plans to meet with state legislative leaders to persuade them to support a red flag law.
On April 2, 2023, Breitbart News author Awr Hawkins pointed out that a red flag law would not have prevented the Nashville shooting because neither police nor the family of the 28-year-old “transgender” shooter knew of the planned violence against the Christian school.
The attacker had no criminal record. She legally bought her guns and was not on the police radar.
The Daily Beast observed Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) chief John Drake indicated his department would have taken Haley’s guns away before the attack, but “as it stands, [they] had absolutely no idea who … [she] was.”
