On August 21st, Tennessee legislators are scheduled to be called into a special session to address proposals for increasing public safety by Gov.
On August 21st, Tennessee legislators are scheduled to be called into a special session to address proposals for increasing public safety by Gov. Bill Lee.
Some of the alleged proposals seek to target firearm ownership and extreme risk protection orders. As we have been reporting, critics of the Governor’s proposal call his plan a red flag law that could infringe on 2nd Amendment rights while the Governor claims his plan for an extreme risk protection order does not fit the definition of a red flag law and does not target firearm ownership. Just yesterday, Republican House and Senate Leaders spoke candidly about the proposal. Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson even went so far as to say he would not carry the bill as a sponsor in the Senate as is customary for the majority leader to carry the Governor’s legislation.
State Senator J. Adam Lowe who represents Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, and Rhea Counties, released a statement yesterday in which he said he has not only met with the Governor, but with his constituents, and prepared a policy review for the Senate Caucus.
Lowe said in the statement that “By the time I met with the Governor, I had already completed three town halls, spoken to mental health providers, and law enforcement, and conducted a 16-page policy review for the Senate Caucus.”
He said his town halls were held on college campuses in the district and were open to the public.
“The special session was definitely on people’s minds. My district was predominately concerned about any ‘red flag’ proposal and very clear that they wanted to preserve their rights to due process and presumption of innocence,” Lowe said.
Senator Lowe said his report was an attempt to ground discussions in fact not rhetoric.
In his policy review, Senator Lowe recommends policy reforms that target early intervention, awareness education, and improving access to mental health resources that current law requires.
The special-called session is scheduled for the week of Aug. 21, however, an official call from the governor has not yet been formally issued.
WCLE will continue to keep you up-to-date.
