Gov. Bill Lee to keep pushing for bill allowing courts to order temporary removal of guns

CLARKRANGE — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Thursday he intends to press forward during an August special session with a proposal viewed by many Republican lawmakers as a “red flag law,” despite strong opposition so far from members of his own party.

Similar to a law in Florida, Lee’s proposal would allow a judge to order guns to be temporarily confiscated from individuals found to be a threat to themselves or others after a mental evaluation and court hearing. The governor has stringently objected to the term “red flag" to describe his proposal.

“We’ve made it really clear that we’ve proposed this piece of legislation, and the General Assembly will analyze that,” Lee told reporters Thursday afternoon during a news conference in rural Clarkrange, Tennessee.

His proposal to establish an extreme risk protection order law will be among the bills in the governor’s legislative package when he calls lawmakers back to Nashville for a special legislative session to begin on Aug. 21.

Lee first pitched the proposal days before the legislature adjourned in April, pushing hard for a vote. But hours after the bill text was made public, House Republicans issued a statement saying so-called “red flag laws” are “a nonstarter for House Republicans.”

In the following days, no lawmaker sponsored and filed the bill, and more than a month later, only three Republicans have publicly voiced support for the proposal while more have further committed to opposing "red flag" laws.

A growing group of lawmakers also say they will likely not vote to change any of Tennessee’s gun laws if the writings of the Covenant shooter are not publicly released.

Earlier this year, Lee said his proposal differs from those in other states and called "red flag" a "toxic political label meant to draw lines in the sand so nothing gets done."

On Thursday, Lee said the language he proposed can be “a framework” for the legislature to work from and “determine if there are adjustments they want to make.”

“I think most lawmakers agree with that and agree that we should be continuously improving public safety. That's what the special session is about,” Lee said. “We propose a framework but the General Assembly at the end of the day will decide what happens in that session.”

Lee said his team “hasn’t developed” other proposals yet, but is “meeting with folks every day and every week that will have ideas of their own.” Meanwhile, Lee says his team also anticipates other proposals from the legislature.

“We expect that members of the General Assembly will have a number of ideas that they'll bring forward over the next few months,” he said. “And that's a good thing because that way, there'll be options for the body to choose what's the best way forward to keep Tennessee safer.”

Reach Vivian Jones at vjones@tennessean.com

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Despite opposition, Lee says he’ll press on with gun confiscation law