Within minutes of Tennessee’s General Assembly gaveling in for special sessions focused on public safety Monday, a Republican member of the state Senate called for an end to the session while in the House members began an hourslong debate just over the rules governing it.
The tense nature of the issue at hand, which is officially public safety but unofficially the issue of gun control in the state, was most apparent in the state House of Representatives.
While Democrats in the state legislature were hopeful the session would focus specifically on gun laws and restrictions, Gov. Bill Lee’s summons was narrowly tailored to focus on other issues related to public safety.
The GOP supermajority in the Tennessee General Assembly hinted throughout the summer, as gun control advocates made their argument for limiting firearms in the state, that such laws that could infringe on the Second Amendment were dead-on-arrival.
On Monday, House Republican leadership was criticized by state Democrats for what they called attempts to silence them and their constituents through new rules governing the conduct of representatives during proceedings.
The rules proposed harken back to late March, when three Democratic members of the House faced expulsion votes after disrupting proceedings to call for gun control measures in the immediate wake of the deadly Covenant School shooting in Nashville, which left three children and three adults dead.
Two of those members were expelled and the third was spared by just one vote. Republicans said the new rules could give the legislature more options for consequences to representatives for disrupting proceedings than expulsion or censure, something they say Democrats themselves asked for following the expulsion votes in April.
Move to Adjourn
State Sen. Janice Bowling, a Republican, made a motion to adjourn the special session in the Senate just moments after roll call was made.
After a question by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, Ms. Bowling said she would bring a resolution back the following day to put her motion in writing. She withdrew that request on Tuesday morning, citing her failure to file the resolution timely.
New Rules Controversial
The adoption of rules governing the conduct of legislators in the House, typically a mundane task, was the most contentious issue as the special session began.Republican leadership summarized the proposed changes to the rules, which some Democrats had objections to specific sections of but were on the whole agreed upon by a bipartisan rules committee, including restrictions on recording devices on the House floor and consequences for repeated disruptions.
New consequences for a first offense are that a member will not be allowed to speak on the floor for three days, six days for a second offense, and throughout the remainder of the special session for a third offense. Rules also disallow members from bringing to the floor or committees signs, props, or voice amplification devices.
State Rep. Johnny Shaw, a Democrat, expressed his reservations about the new rules, emphasizing the importance of personal responsibility among legislators and criticizing the new measures as unnecessary. He suggested that members should be held accountable by their colleagues and party caucuses.
State Rep. Jason Powell, a Democrat, criticized the new rules, claiming they limit democracy and freedom of speech. He expressed concern about being silenced for minor infractions.
“[These rules] scare me as an American who believes in a free state and democracy,” he said. “We did not come up here for this special session to limit the speech of the members of this body. We came up here to tackle a problem—or at least some of us thought we were going to—with gun violence that is impacting this state, that has killed countless people and school children. Instead, we’re starting off amending the rules of this body to limit our democracy. It’s ridiculous. This is absurd.”
Material Disruptions
State Rep. Justin Pearson, one of the two Democrats expelled earlier this year and reelected by Memphis voters, raised concerns about the restrictions on free speech and democratic principles imposed by the new rules.
He compared the situation to the American Revolution and emphasized the importance of freedom of speech for constituents. He criticized the rules for limiting the ability of both representatives and constituents to voice their concerns and opinions.
Democrats also inquired about the definition of a “material disruption of legislative business,” to which Republicans provided an example of a material disruption involving stopping proceedings at the well of the house, a direct reference to Mr. Pearson and his Democrat colleagues doing so in April.
Majority Leader William Lamberth said members were free to shout whatever they wanted to when not in the chamber, but while in the chamber there were rules that needed to be followed to ensure business could be conducted.
“The way that you have a republic is that each of us gets elected to be the voice of roughly 70,000 people and I would like to listen to your points and I would ask that you respectfully listen to mine so that we can have an exchange of ideas,” he said. “If more people did it in the world, in my humble opinion, we would solve a lot of these problems that we face instead of just yelling.
Republicans Defend Rules
State Rep. Gino Bulso expressed support for adopting the committee’s rules, emphasizing the importance of rules for providing order and promoting civility.He referenced historical legislative procedure manuals and quotes Thomas Jefferson’s rule on speaking importantly beside the question, superfluously, or tediously. He argues that these rules are needed in the chamber now more than ever.
“Rules exist for two reasons: to provide order and to promote civility,” he said. ”These rules do that exceptionally well. There’s been a suggestion here this afternoon that these rules are somehow Un-American or anti-democratic and nothing could be further from the truth.”
State Rep. Ryan Williams questioned the complaints against the new rules, noting that they provided more options for dealing with violations of decorum compared to the previous rules.
Scope of Legislation
Issues being debated in committees beginning Tuesday include proposals by the governor in his official call for the session, including 18 topics listed as being priorities for the legislature to “consider and act upon.”The list also calls on medical providers’ duty to “warn about potential violent offenses” and make necessary changes to “the structure or operations” of state or local courts.
Other priorities are broader, with Mr. Lee’s order calling for law enforcement to have better access to criminal and juvenile records as well as information about individuals who have been subject to mental health commitment or have been arrested for felonies.
Safe gun storage measures are also encouraged to be discussed, but Mr. Lee’s order specifically said they must not “include the creation of penalties for failing to safely store firearms.”
Temporary mental health orders of protection are also part of the list, with language included that requires legislators to heavily narrow the scope of any such law to ensure due process.
Some of the more contentious issues that have drawn criticism from state Democrats brought forth in Mr. Lee’s call revolve around the juvenile justice system.
In addition to the broader public safety topics aforementioned, several juvenile-focused measures are encouraged to be discussed, including limiting the circumstances in which juvenile records may be expunged, blended sentencing for juveniles, and transferring juvenile defendants aged 16 and over to courts with criminal jurisdiction.
Democrats Still Want Gun Legislation
While the governor provided a list of topics that could be discussed during the special sessions, Democrats have promised and pushed for legislation addressing many issues outside of the scope of the governor’s order.Some policy proposals advocated for by Democrats include universal background checks for gun purchases, a red-flag (Extreme Risk Protection Order) law to take guns from mentally unstable individuals, state permits for people who want to go armed in public, and repeal of the “guns in trunks” law.
While the bills have been proposed by Democrats, some were rejected to be heard even in committee because they were deemed to fall outside of the limited guidelines set forth by the governor.
Public Access
Democrats also criticized the Republican supermajority for what they called attempts to limit public access and protest.At times, House Speaker Cameron Sexton warned members of the public sitting in the House gallery they were at risk of being removed, as some visitors sought to disrupt proceedings by shouting down at the House floor.
The House gallery did not end up being cleared as protestors held decorum following the warnings, but Democrats criticized Republican leadership for not having the gallery full of citizens and splitting the space split between citizens, the press, and alleged lobbyists.
On Tuesday, Mr. Pearson claimed on the floor that House leadership had turned off access to water fountains in the capitol amid intense heat outside in order to limit the public’s participation.
Sexton said his assertion was incorrect and that water fountains were working on Monday and Tuesday, calling his line of questioning rumors.
