Tennessee Governor Calls Special Session After Legislature Doesn’t Pass Order of Protection Law

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee takes part in a discussion on state-level criminal justice reform in Nashville, Tenn., on April 17, 2019. Mark Humphrey/AP Photo

As Tennessee’s legislature wrapped up year one of the 113th General Assembly on Friday, they did so without taking up gun legislation called to be enacted by state Democrats and Republican Gov. Bill Lee.

There wasn’t a lack of time, as many more days were allotted to finish the state’s business. The House clerk told the legislature last week that between the two years, the legislature had 90 days to be in session—with the state House using 27 and the Senate using 32 this year.

Less than two hours after both chambers gaveled out of session until January 2024, Lee used his authority to call the legislature into a special session to specifically discuss gun laws.

Special Session on Public Safety

Special sessions are interim days between the two years that are called for a specific number of days by Lee or two-thirds of members elected to each body. Special sessions are specifically restricted to matters specifically mentioned in the call.

On Friday evening, Lee issued a brief statement announcing he will call for the legislature to convene a special session to “pass legislation that will strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights.”

Lee has not yet announced the days set for the special session, but Democrat lawmakers calling for the session last week called for it to be held “almost immediately.” Lee noted his “official call” and resolution will be released in the coming days.

“After much input from members of the General Assembly and discussions with legislative leadership, we have decided to call a special session to continue our work to protect Tennessee communities and preserve constitutional rights,” said Lee. “There is broad agreement that dangerous, unstable individuals who intend to harm themselves or others should not have access to weapons. We also share a strong commitment to preserving Second Amendment rights, ensuring due process and addressing the heart of the problem with strengthened mental health resources.”

Lee’s Previous Calls Rejected

Lee called for an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) law weeks ago following the deadly shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville.

ERPO laws are compared to red flag laws by some, including the Tennessee Firearms Association which said that’s what Lee was really proposing.

Red flag laws are enacted to take guns away from those deemed a risk to themselves or others, but objections to such a law revolve around the due process rights of citizens. Lee tried to soften those qualms by stating any Tennessee law would ensure due process and involve local law enforcement in any decision to take away firearms from any individual.

Regardless, his own party in the state House posted on Twitter last week that red flag laws were a “nonstarter” and many Republican members of the legislature said that such a law would “never” pass in Tennessee.

On the final days of the legislative session, Democrats in the House and Senate tried to bring gun control laws to the floor for debate—of which both attempts failed mostly along party lines.

The legislation was voted against being taken up by the Republican supermajority in the Senate on Friday, and later in the day on the House side Democrat state Rep. Bob Freeman called on Lee and House speaker to call a special session dedicated directly to the topic of “gun violence.”

“I was gonna stand and ask for us to bring back a bill from the delayed bills committee, make a motion on the floor, and as I’ve thought about it, I think we need real action—not some political grandstanding of trying to make a symbolic effort,” he said. “Everybody in this room, I would assume, has had somebody from Voices for a Safer Tennessee come by and talk to them about what we need to do about gun violence. If they haven’t come to see you, you’ve seen them in the halls as you walk in this chamber, and they are begging for us to do something.”

State House Majority Leader William Lamberth said he would also be open to coming back to discuss public safety in a special session while speaking on the House floor on Friday.

Other gun-related bills aimed at expanding Second Amendment and gun access rights in the state were set to be taken up last week but were tabled indefinitely.

One of those proposals would have armed teachers. It is unclear if that is a proposal that will also be taken up in the special session, but it is likely on the table as Lee seeks to get both parties to work together.