NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee tabled all but three bills on its agenda Tuesday. It was the second day of a special session called for lawmakers to pass laws focused on public safety.
Three out of the 55 bills on the committee's agenda passed. They are listed below.
- SB 7088: Requires the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to submit a report on child and human trafficking crimes and trends in the state by Dec. 1, 2023, and each Dec. 1 thereafter.
- SB 7086: Requires clerks of circuit or general sessions courts to notify the TBI of the final disposition of criminal proceedings within 72 hours, instead of 30 days.
- SB 7085: Directs the Department of Safety to provide free firearm locks to Tennessee residents if they ask for them, and requires handgun safety courses to contain instruction on safe gun storage.
"We are actually not doing what the governor asked us to come here and do, which is to pass an extreme risk protection order," said Sen. Heidi Campbell (D - Nashville). "There are close to 1,000 people coming to us right now from Tennessee telling us they want something done about common-sense gun restrictions, and instead we seem to be focusing on mental health, human trafficking and the school-to-prison pipeline."
The Senate Judiciary Committee has six members and three officers. The committee's officers and members are listed below.
- Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R - Chattanooga) - Chair
- Sen. Dawn White (R - Murfreesboro) - Vice-Chair
- Sen. Paul Rose (R - District 32) - Second Vice-Chair
- Sen. Sara Kyle (D - Memphis) - Member
- Sen. London Lamar (D - Memphis) - Member
- Sen. Jon Lundberg (R - Bristol) - Member
- Sen. Kerry Robers (R - Springfield) - Member
- Sen. Brent Taylor (R - Memphis) - Member
- Sen. John Stevens (R - Huntingdon) - Memphis
"I think it's pretty clear we're living in a totalitarian state," said Campbell. "We are not actually allowing the people of Tennessee to have their voices be heard."
The bills tabled by the committee will not be heard until January at the earliest, according to Campbell. She said since the end of the last session in April, 24 children have been shot in Tennessee.
The special session was called following a deadly school shooting in Nashville at The Covenant School. Governor Bill Lee called it so lawmakers could pass bills focused on public safety.
On the first day of the special session, the state House of Representatives passed new rules that allow members who the Speaker considers to be causing a "material disruption" to be punished. Those members could face not being recognized during the House's debates or during remarks for days at a time. On the third offense, they may not be recognized for the rest of the legislative session.
According to a statement from House Minority Leader Karen Camper, several people were also ejected from the House Civil Justice Subcommittee on Tuesday. That statement is available below.
“I am appalled by what occurred today in a committee room at the State Capitol during the extraordinary session. Citizens were removed from the room for sitting quietly, and then the entire room was cleared because some people clapped during the meeting. This is outrageous. I cannot believe how petty this was. When the Covenant shooting occurred in March, members of this body poured out their hearts to the community and said they cared. Thousands of Tennesseans came to their house—the People’s House—to urge us to do something about senseless gun tragedies. They literally shouted for us to do something. Now, months later, we are supposedly here to finally do something to protect our children in this state. And what happens? People are removed from the building that they own as they sit quietly and then clap softly for agreeing with a statement. For a committee chairperson to use their position to banish grieving Tennesseans from the committee room is beyond the pale. This needs to be explained as to why people were removed and the room was cleared after citizens took to the time and effort to be present in their government. This is embarrassing. What are we doing?”
The people were ejected from the subcommittee after Rep. Jody Barrett (R - Dickson) spoke about HB 7043, saying he wanted to roll the bill to the next calendar to allow more time to build it. It would allow people with enhanced handgun carry permits to carry guns on school grounds.
Audience members of the subcommittee clapped when he said he wanted to delay the bill and also clapped when Chairman Lowell Russell (R - Vonore) banged the gavel allowing it to be delayed.
"Are we going to quiet down and listen, or are we going to sit there and clap?" he asked people at the subcommittee.
He then told troopers to clear the room. A member of the subcommittee asked to only clear "the half that was causing the trouble." Russell said it could not be determined who would be ejected, so he decided to clear everyone from the room.
A statement from him is available in full below.
“After requests for those in attendance to not disrupt the committee failed, I had the audience view the committee from the hallway. People were allowed to re-enter the committee room to testify during the committee meeting. It’s unfortunate a simple request to keep the noice down was repeatedly ignored.”