Gov. Bill Lee (R) called a special legislative session set for Aug. 21 with the expressed purpose to “strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights.” If only that were true.
The regular session of the Tennessee General Assembly ended without new gun control legislation passing. This angered many who sought legal changes after a violent criminal shot and killed six people at a Nashville elementary school in March.
Lee is criticized for “caving” to gun control advocates despite measures enacted in the state to strengthen school security. In May he signed into law a $230 million bill to enhance school safety.
It allocated $30 million to place armed resource officers in every public school, $54 million to help fortify public and private school buildings, $140 million for Homeland Security agents in each county to formulate responses to emergency situations at schools, and $8 million for staff to assist with behavioral training.
But all of that did not appease the anti-gun crowd. They will not be satisfied until Second Amendment rights are stripped away from those who obey the law. And the so-called “red flag” provisions are nothing more than window dressing.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is clear in its opposition to these measures. They allow governments to confiscate a person’s firearms and suppress their constitutional rights many times without any semblance of due process.
In a handful of states, these confiscation orders are granted without even a hearing or a chance for the person targeted by the order to speak or present evidence.
As the NRA correctly noted, a person may lose their constitutional rights on a mere accusation with no burden of proof. This is a flimsy standard that should never be applied to basic liberties.
