‘It’s about saving lives’ | Mayor Kincannon, 3 other mayors call for gun reform in letter to gov.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, along with three major Tennessee city mayors, ask Gov. Lee for stricter gun laws in letter.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon and mayors from Shelby County, Chattanooga and Nashville asked Gov. Bill Lee for stricter gun laws in a lengthy memo Wednesday.
The memo, addressed to Lee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, listed 10 measures they said the governor should take to better protect Tennesseans.
“There are proven ways that we can reduce this cost of life. We can save lives by adopting these measures that are in this letter,” said Kincannon.
The letter was sent in light of the Covenant School shooting in Nashville that claimed the lives of six people, including three children. “Tragedies have lit a fire under the people of the state who are tired of losing their loved ones in senseless gun violence. If that doesn’t inspire continued action, I don’t know what will,” Kincannon said.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, Shelby Co. Mayor Lee Harris, and Nashville Mayor John Cooper joined Kincannon in asking for gun reform policies. Among those are tighter background checks, extreme risk protection orders or “red flag laws,” and funding for school threat assessment teams. Kincannon emphasized these changes to Tennessee law would not affect most gunowners.
Kincannon applauded the governor’s executive order that tightened the background check process in Tennessee but said more still needed to be done.
“I don’t want to be one of those mayors that we see over and over again expressing sorrow for this tragic loss of life. We don’t have to keep repeating these. It’s a nightmare that can be avoided,” she said.
WVLT News reached out to Lee’s office for comment regarding this letter and did not hear back.
“I support the second amendment unequivocally and believe that a law-abiding, armed citizenry is the greatest defense against criminality and tyranny. But I also believe we must take steps to ensure those experiencing mental health crises do not have access to weapons that can be used in mass casualty events,” McNally said in a statement.
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