NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The mother of a Covenant School shooting survivor joined the Democratic House Oversight Committee in Washington D.C. for a roundtable discussion, speaking about the long-term effects of gun violence on students.
Democratic lawmakers on that committee said they want to let Americans speak out about the facts surrounding shootings in the classroom. The committee also said the roundtable discussion follows Republican inaction after the latest school shooting in Winder, Georgia.
Melissa Alexander has been involved in the Tennessee legislature since her 9-year-old survived the Covenant School shooting in 2023. During the roundtable, Alexander talked about her son's experience surviving the shooting.
Alexander also brought up the survivor's day-to-day lives after the trauma and the need for changes to gun laws.
"As a gun owner and as a Republican, I have spent the last year and a half working with fellow advocates on both sides of the aisle on the need for changes to our gun laws," Alexander said. "This is not a partisan issue."
Other school leaders, policy advocates and legal experts were also there to look at solutions to prevent gun violence.
Students are also returning to the classrooms at Apalachee High School, nearly three weeks after a shooting killed two students and two teachers. Students are in a "phased return," only attending half days until mid-October.
Officials said the hall where the shooting occurred is closed for the remainder of the school year and buses will be taking students to a building a few miles away for classes that were usually in that hallway.
There will also be more law enforcement on campus in addition to counselors and therapy dogs.
