TOGETHER WE MARCH

The First Extraordinary Session of the 113th General Assembly has been extraordinarily disappointing. The special session, which began last Monday, has produced little legislation around gun safety. Grab your popcorn, a few sugar cubes, or whatever you need cause it went down at The Capitol:

• As Rep. Justin Jones was planning a vote of no confidence for House Speaker Cameron Sexton, the House of Representatives voted to silence Rep. Jones for “speaking out of order” (Here’s that “decorum” thing again). All House Democrats walked out of session to stand in solidarity with Rep. Jones.  
• The Senate has passed a handful of bills, including SB 7085/HB 7012, which provides free firearm locks to Tennessee residents upon request, establishes a PSA campaign for secure storage, incorporates secure storage into firearm safety courses, and makes gun safes tax-free; and SB 7086/HB 7013 which shortens the timeframe in which Tennessee Bureau of Investigations must be notified of an individual’s final disposition by a court clerk. 
• Governor Lee has stated his support of 12 bills for the special session; including SB 7027/HB7073 which would provide that juveniles, age 16 and up, be transferred to adult court to be tried for murder or attempted murder. 
• House Republicans approved new rules that would ban flags, signs, and banners in the gallery. This rule was blocked when, A Davidson County judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Tennessee House of Representatives effectively blocking the ban of signs in the galleries. Judge Anne Martin held an emergency hearing to rule against new rules from the TN House of Representatives which would have banned flags, signs, and banners in the gallery.