The special session on public safety produced another chaotic meeting in the State House Monday.
House members voted 70 to 20 to silence newly re-elected Representative Justin Jones, D-Nashville, under a House rule for speaking out of order twice. Members instituted the new rule specifically for the special session.
Representative Jones’ first violation came during discussion of House Bill 7005 to allow private schools serving Pre-K through 12 to adopt a handgun carry policy. Current state law only allows private schools to adopt a policy if they are K-12.
Representative Jones spoke out against the bill claiming the gun lobby is behind it.
“I think it is harmful and horrible that we are proposing more guns in schools,” said Representative Justin Jones, D-Nashville. “I hope that we can offer real solutions and stop trying to put more guns to start a gun fight in our schools that would not protect our children. What is one little Glock against an AR-15.”
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, ruled Jones out of order, and bill sponsor Representative Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood pushed back on Jones’ allegation.
“Every member of this body has a solemn obligation not to misrepresent facts,” said Bulso. “After the horrific shooting at Covenant on March 27, I had a private Christian school in my district, District 61, come to me and ask me for help because that school was a Pre-K through 12 school, and they’ve been told by the Department of Education that it could not adopt its own firearms policy.”
Speaker Sexton ruled Jones out of order a second time a short time later during discussion of another bill involving school security.
That legislation, sponsored by Representative Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, would give law enforcement more authority to place officers in schools if there’s not an agreement to do so with the school district.
“All this legislation does is that if a school board and a local law enforcement can not agree to place SROs (school resource officers) in schools to provide protection for our students, it allows the head law enforcement agent who swore an oath to public safety to carry out his oath of office and make sure those schools are protected with a law enforcement agent,” said Representative Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka “The bill also furthers that if a charter school, who is under the control of the LEA (local education agency) wishes to have an SRO or law enforcement there provided by the state, that allows them to petition the head law enforcement agent to go ahead and place them in their charter schools.”
House Democrats expressed concern the bill would allow law enforcement to place officers without school resource training in schools and Representative Jones questioned whether officers are effective at stopping school shootings.
“What our schools need are mental health professionals. We need funding for mental health, for counselors. We need to pay our teachers better we don’t need more police in our schools,” said Jones.
Speaker Sexton ruled Jones out of order and House members voted him in violation of the new policy, effectively preventing him from talking the rest of the day.
That vote prompted loud protests from spectators in the gallery.
Speaker Sexton ordered the gallery cleared for a second time this session and House Democrats exited the chambers in protest.
House Republican proceeded to pass three additional bills without their Democratic colleagues.
“Obviously every single Democrat has left the chamber. There are issues still on the calendar today including the next one that they have left behind, since abandoning their work and their post. I can’t explain to you why they left,” said Representative William Lamberth, R-Portland.
Tennessee House members passed a total of twelve bills Monday and members are scheduled to vote on another 5 Tuesday morning.
