Featured Photo by Ethan Schmidt
Story by Ethan Schmidt
A protest in support of enhanced Tennessee gun legislation took place on the Franklin Public Square on Saturday, April 1. The event was in response to the March 27 mass shooting in Nashville at The Covenant School, which left three children and three adults murdered by an assailant wielding three legally obtained weapons.
Organized by Jared Sullivan, the demonstration called for state legislators to take three specific actions: enact Red-Flag Laws to “give state courts the authority to temporarily remove firearms from people when there’s evidence … that they may present a danger to themselves or others,” according to tncommmonsense.com; pass Safe Storage bills—HB 1233/SB 1029—to “create the offense of storing a firearm or firearm ammunition in a motor vehicle or boat while the person is not in the motor vehicle or boat unless the firearm or firearm ammunition is kept from ordinary observation and locked within the trunk, utility or glove box, or a locked container securely affixed to the motor vehicle or boat,” according to tn.gov; and oppose HB 1005/SB 1503, which would lower the minimum age to carry without permit from 21 to 18.
“I have two little girls,” Sullivan informed. “I don’t want them to be blurred out bodies from a police body cam.”
The crowd of at least a hundred supporters, led by a handful of speakers, shared this sentiment. Many brought signs to support the demands of the protest, with some displaying messages that spoke beyond the demands of the protest or simply shared a general agreement with the protest. Some protesters displayed signs calling for the ban of AR-15s, some signs noted how guns are inherently not pro-life objects and others even called out the National Rifle Association for its lobbying efforts that encourage legislators to craft laws that cater to their donors.
“I just wanna support the Williamson County community,” said Kirsten Danferry, one of the attendees. “We have a lot of representatives from here, so we want our voices heard, loud and clear.”
Ethan Schmidt is a contributing writer to MTSU Sidelines.
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