Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s office did not respond to The Tennessee Star’s Monday inquiries seeking clarification on whether Lee met with State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and a group of students to discuss gun control last week.
Friday, the far-left Tennessee Holler posted a video to Twitter claiming that he was marching to Lee’s office with students to stress the urgency of implementing gun control measures during the upcoming August special legislative session.
“We’re heading to the governor’s office so these students can meet with the governor about the special session and the urgency about having the special session before school starts and to make sure it prioritizes the common sense gun reform that these young people asked him for,” Jones said in the video.
🗣️❤️🔥WATCH: “This state elected Bill Lee governor. NOT THE NRA.”
Rep. @brotherjones_ & students meet with @GovBillLee asking him to “protect kids not guns”, but he still won’t commit to making the August special session about common sense Gun reform… or even say the word.🤔 pic.twitter.com/MVGcIbg1ou
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) May 12, 2023
In response to political pressure from the left, Lee called a special session of the General Assembly to focus on gun control. Since then, he has repeatedly called for red flag laws, which Tennessee House Republicans have already described as a “non-starter.”
The video includes brief interviews with the students walking alongside Jones, who reiterated that they want new gun control laws passed before the new school year begins, and that they don’t feel safe in their schools.
“This state elected Bill Lee to be governor,” one student said. “They did not elect the NRA. They didn’t elect the Tennessee Rifle Association. They didn’t elect radical extremists who want to protect guns at all costs. They elected Bill Lee. And if Bill Lee wants to be a voice for the people, I highly recommend he start listening to those people.”
The same student claimed that Republicans will be “punished at the ballot box.”
“These are the voices that need to be heard in the governor’s office,” said Jones. “The voices of young people and students who have been at the Capitol for weeks protesting for those who are being impacted by these school shootings. There is a very extreme element in the [General] Assembly who is setting the agenda, and so that’s what we have to be cognizant of.”
Jones was expelled by fellow members of the General Assembly for sparking a riot with student activists inside the Capitol in the wake of the mass shooting that killed six at The Covenant School in May.
He was later temporarily reinstated, and will be on the ballot for a special election to be held later this year.
Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who identified as transgender, carried out the mass killing.
Hale left behind a manifesto, which has now been in the custody of the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for more than six weeks.
Last week, The Star News Network sued the FBI, demanding the release of the manifesto.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “Bill Lee” by Gov. Bill Lee. Photo “Justin Jones” by Justin Jones. Background Photo “Tennessee Capitol” by Andre Porter. CC BY-SA 3.0.
