Covenant parents ousted from meeting as tension ripples
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Activists outside the Tennessee State Capitol on Monday. Photo: Jon Cherry/Getty Images
Tensions flared at the special session Tuesday, when the head of a Republican-controlled House subcommittee ordered the public, including Covenant School parents, to leave a meeting while lawmakers considered bills.
Some Covenant parents — who turned to activism after the March 27 mass shooting at the school that killed three 9-year-old students and three staff members — were visibly shaken.
- Many parents have pushed for gun reforms rejected by the Republican-dominated General Assembly.
What they're saying: Sarah Shoop Neumann, a Covenant parent who co-founded an advocacy group, told WKRN she was "just trying to sit quiet" before the room was cleared.
- "I don't think these people get what this means," she said through tears. "We're here for six people that were killed at our school. We're just trying to do something."
- "It's hard to be here. It's overwhelming."
What happened: The Civil Justice Subcommittee was closed to the public after disruptions from some audience members.
- Some refused to put down their handheld paper signs, which are not allowed under House rules passed Monday. State troopers escorted them out.
- Afterward, when a bill loosening firearms restrictions at public schools was delayed, some audience members clapped. The entire audience was then ejected from the room while staff and journalists were allowed to stay inside.
- Neumann and some others were allowed in to testify on pending legislation.
Rep. Lowell Russell (R-Vonore), the subcommittee's chair, told The Associated Press the audience continued to disrupt the meeting "after three, maybe four warnings."
- "So unfortunately, that's just the way it goes, if they don't follow the rules."
State of play: Democrats were fiercely critical of Republican leadership.
- "[The] entire room was cleared because some people clapped during the meeting," House Minority Leader Karen Camper (D-Memphis) said in a statement. "This is outrageous. I cannot believe how petty this was."
The big picture: Committees evaluating new legislation quickly sidelined a number of bills.
- The House subcommittee tabled bills seeking to keep guns away from people who are deemed dangerous.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced only three of the 55 bills on its agenda before adjourning, likely for the rest of the special session.
- One bill would incentivize safe gun storage by offering free gun locks and sales tax breaks for purchasing safes. Another would require county criminal clerks to report the outcome of criminal hearings to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation within three business days.
- Finally, the committee approved a proposal requiring the TBI to produce an annual report about human trafficking in the state. All three measures were backed by Gov. Bill Lee.
- No observers were ejected from the Senate committee meeting.