NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – As Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee offered updates on overnight tornadoes and toured the deadly wreckage left in his state, lawmakers forged ahead Tuesday to advance the governor’s key priorities to restrict abortion and expand gun rights.
Both a House and Senate panel in the Republican-led Legislature voted to move along the GOP governor’s proposal to let most adults 21 and older carry firearms, concealed or openly, without a license that currently requires a background check and training.
And a Senate panel pushed through Lee’s bill that would largely ban women from undergoing abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, among other abortion restrictions.
The decision to move ahead with legislative business during the dig-out from storms that killed at least 24 people drew criticism from Democrats. Thousands of Tennesseans remained without electricity as of Tuesday.
Rep. John Ray Clemmons, who represents Nashville, said he had been up since the tornadoes tore through the city.