Tennessee Republican Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) voted “no” on two gun control bills brought to the House floor Wednesday.

“House Democrats decided to infringe on the 2nd amendment rights of law-abiding citizens instead of addressing mental health and school security issues, the root causes of gun violence and school shootings,” Representative John Rose expressed in a statement. “I am proud to vote ‘No’ to defend the constitutional rights of law-abiding Tennesseans.”

The first bill, titled “Protecting our Kids Act,” or H.R. 7910, would raise the age limit to purchase certain semiautomatic centerfire rifles and shotguns to 21 years old; outlaw self-manufactured firearms and bump stocks; establish regulations on how individuals must store guns in their private homes and create penalties for violating those regulations; establish new federal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchasers; and, as Rose put it, “enact duplicative laws already on the books that do nothing to stop criminals from trafficking illegally purchased guns.”

On Wednesday, Rose also voted “no” on the second gun control bill, H.R. 2377, titled the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order, which would nationalize red flag laws.

As previously covered by The Tennessee Star, red flag laws, also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders, allow judges to seize a person’s guns without a trial, based solely on a written complaint that the person might be a danger to themselves or others. All a judge needs is “reasonable suspicion.”

Both bill packages passed the House and now head to the Senate.

Along with his “no” votes Wednesday, Rose gave a speech on the House floor expressing his desire to improve school safety while, at the same time, upholding the Constitution and not infringing on the Second Amendment.

“As an elected representative as well as a parent, I am eager to find solutions that make our kids safer,” Rose said while speaking on the House floor. “Those solutions must include strengthening mental health services and school security across the country. But I fear House Democrats are ignoring those fundamental issues – and jumping right into their gun control agenda.”

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.