NASHVILLE – Mostly Democratic state lawmakers from Tennessee, Ohio and other parts of the country challenged home-state Republican leaders Wednesday to quickly enact new laws to stem gun violence after the nation’s latest deadly mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas.
“All across the country, people are worried. They’re worried for the safety of their children,” Tennessee House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart said as he was flanked by colleagues attending this week’s meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Nashville.
Yet, Stewart added, “we have many politicians who are saying ‘We can’t do anything, we need to go slow, we don’t need to take actions.'”
Stewart was joined by some 70 lawmakers from other states on the steps of Tennessee’s state Capitol.
Citing inaction in Washington, the legislators called for states’ passage of universal background check laws to close loopholes in background checks for prospective gun purchasers as well as approval of “red flag” laws.