On Monday night, country music singer John Rich warned that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) is pressuring state lawmakers to support red flag gun control.
Rich tweeted:
The Governor of TN is trying to strong arm Representatives to vote for a “rebranded” Red Flag Law in our state. Can you believe that? Just another RINO in sheep’s clothing. This attempt at disarming Tennesseans will fail, I promise you. Share your thoughts and tag: #RedFlagDown
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) June 13, 2023
On April 12, 2023, less than a month after a 28-year-old transgender person allegedly attacked a Nashville Christian school, Breitbart News noted that Gov. Lee called on the legislature to pass red flag gun control.
A week later, on April 19, 2023, Breitbart News pointed out that Lee received a visit from singers Amy Grant and Sheryl Crow, both of whom are members of Voices for a Safer Tennessee, a group pushing for a red flag law in the state.
But the Tennessee legislature ended its session without taking up Lee’s gun control request, so Lee called a special session in which he wants a red flag law adopted.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee delivers his State of the State address in the House Chamber of the Capitol building, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, in Nashville, TN. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski, File)
In somewhat of a twist, on June 1, 2023, the Tennessean noted that Lee wants a red flag law, but he does not want the words “red flag” used in conjunction with it. He wants to do something like California did with its red flag law, calling it an extreme risk protection order or something similar.
The Tennessean observed that Lee’s proposed law would allow a person’s gun to be “temporarily confiscated” following a judge’s order.
The special session for gun control is scheduled to begin on August 21, 2023.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.