NASHVILLE — An effort by a Democratic senator to take a “red flag” bill directly to the Senate floor after last month’s mass shooting at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville was tabled Thursday by GOP members in a 24-7 vote.
Two Hamilton County Republican senators led the effort to quash the bill.
Sen. Jeff Yarbro, a Nashville Democrat, told the chamber he wanted to put his “extreme risk protection order” measure, Senate Bill 1029, on the floor because the bill has been marooned in the now-closed Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga.
Gardenhire closed the committee about two weeks ago. He and fellow Republicans moved all remaining bills, including Yarbro’s, over to 2024.
“Mr. Speaker, this right now is probably our best chance before this legislature adjourns to pass legislation to take firearms out of the hands of individuals … demonstrably proven to be a danger to themselves or to others,” Yarbro told the chamber.