After School Shooting, Tennessee Governor Signs Bill to Shield Gun Firms Further Against Lawsuits
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed off on additional protections for gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits within a bill that lawmakers passed after a deadly school shooting in March.The state Senate gave final passage to the bill in mid-April, just weeks after the March 27 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that killed six people, including three 9-year-olds. The House had passed it before the shooting.
Lee's choice to sign the bill comes as he keeps pushing for the same Republican lawmakers, who hold supermajorities in the House and Senate, to pass a proposal that aims to keep guns away from people who could harm themselves or others. Lee plans to call lawmakers back into an August special session that aims “to strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights” after they adjourned last month without taking up his “temporary mental health order of protection” proposal.
The expansion of civil immunity for gun companies was hardly in doubt after lawmakers passed it. Lee has never issued a veto, which lawmakers would have the numbers to override. However, he occasionally has allowed bills to take effect without his signature to signal his concerns or disapproval of a policy.
Democratic lawmakers have blasted the move to prioritize legal protections to the gun industry in the wake of the shooting. Three Senate Republicans voted against the legislation, which came before them in the middle of weeks of public pressure, protests and marches to pass gun control reforms. Only Democrats opposed the bill in the House vote before the shooting.
“With regards to the law, the GOP supermajority is more focused on protecting firearms and manufacturers and dealers than protecting our children and communities,” Rep. John Ray Clemmons, the House Democratic caucus chairman from Nashville, said in an interview Monday.
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After school shooting, Tennessee governor signs bill to shield gun firms further against lawsuitsTennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed off on additional protections for gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits within a bill that lawmakers passed after a deadly school shooting. The Republican governor quietly signed the legislation Thursday. Its provisions take effect July 1. The Senate passed the bill in mid-April, just weeks after the March 27 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that killed six people, including three 9-year-olds. The House had passed it before the shooting. Lee’s approval comes amid his push for Republican lawmakers to pass a proposal that aims to keep guns away from people who could harm themselves or others. He has called lawmakers back for a special session in August.
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After Nashville school shooting, Tennessee governor signs bill to protect gun firmsTennessee Gov. Bill Lee approved extra protections for gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers, and sellers against lawsuits in legislation passed following the shooting.
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After school shooting, Tennessee governor signs bill to shield gun firms further against lawsuitsTennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed off on additional protections for gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits within a bill that lawmakers passed after a deadly school shooting in March.
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After school shooting, Tennessee governor signs bill to shield gun firms further against lawsuitsTennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed off on additional protections for gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits within a bill that lawmakers passed after a deadly school shooting.
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