KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Thursday, East Tennesseans shared opinions about the subjects proposed by Gov. Bill Lee in the upcoming special session regarding public safety.
One of the most controversial suggestions is "temporary mental health orders of protection," which are called red flag laws in other states.
"I'm not real crazy about the idea of the Red Flag Law kind of thing," Ed Hughes from Maryville said. "To me, that seems like something that is guilty until proven innocent. And also, I think it's something that's ripe for misuse to harass people."
With the recent Covenant shooting and political discourse, many were surprised to see topics such as the transfer of juvenile defendants aged 16 and older to courts with criminal jurisdiction and human trafficking.
Lawmakers like Sen. Becky Duncan Massey (R) and Rep. Jason Zachary (R), have called mental health the 'root cause' of mass violence.
"Our society clearly has a mental health issue," Richard Strouder from Oak Ridge said. But this is not something to be addressed in a special session. "This needs to be in a normal legislative process, where you have committees, you have testimony by experts."
There are some though, who agreed with the need for the special session and even wish it addressed more issues pertaining to gun control.
"I think [Gov. Lee] is right to say we've got to take some action, we have to be responsible to the citizens of our state," George Wallace of Knoxville said. "Background checks, time, you know, some delays and the Red Flag Law. I'm all about it, I think those are smart moves. And I like to see it go that far."