KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A year ago, Tennessee saw the deadliest school shooting in state history at the Covenant School in Nashville. Since then, parents of those students have rallied at the capitol and spoken to lawmakers, demanding change.
Many attended a specially-called session of lawmakers to pass laws on gun safety, asking for gun restrictions like red-flag laws. Few new laws emerged from that social session. But, representatives Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) and Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville) said some of those new laws passed have helped.
"We have put money in, so every school in Tennessee can get grants and secure the glass, secure the entrances," Faison said. "We've made it possible that every single school public school in Tennessee has the money for an SRO officer."
Both Faison and Davis also said mental health is a big part of the problem.
"Ultimately, the best thing to do is for our communities to watch out for each other," Davis said. "That we're doing everything we can for those individuals that do have health issues, that do have mental health issues."
Representatives Gloria Johnson (D - Knoxville) and Sam McKenzie (D - Knoxville) said there has been little progress in addressing school and gun safety.
"Not much healing has happened in the year," McKenzie said. "We definitely could have passed an extreme risk protection order. And people want to call it 'red flag,' that has become a bad word in certain circles, but it's an extreme risk."
Johnson said the state should address the root of the problem — which she said is not mental health. She said that directly passing legislation about how people access guns and how they should be handled would save more lives.
"Nothing has been done to enact gun sense legislation that doesn't take guns away from people unless they are dangerous," Johnson said. "Just common-sense gun bills, like a universal background check and safe storage, and reporting lost and stolen firearms."
WBIR reached out to 14 lawmakers in the Tennessee state legislature representing East Tennessee. We heard back from five lawmakers and interviewed four of them. Senator Becky Massey (R-Knox County) was unavailable.
These were our questions:
- Do you feel that you have made progress in increasing school safety to prevent shootings?
- Parents have time and time again asked for stronger gun laws, why have you not passed anything?
- How has school safety and security increased?
- Do you think the special session made meaningful progress in improving school safety?