Post-Covenant gun reform group donates over $55,000 to Tennessee lawmakers, most goes to Republicans

Voices for a Safer Tennessee organized an April 2023 event in which volunteers formed a human chain from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where victims of the Covenant School shooting were taken, to the Tennessee Capitol. The group is a 501(c)(4) political advocacy group and a political action committee, allowing it to shield the names of donors. / Tennesse Lookout Photo by John Partipilo Voices for a Safer Tennessee organized an April 2023 event in which volunteers formed a human chain from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where victims of the Covenant School shooting were taken, to the Tennessee Capitol. The group is a 501(c)(4) political advocacy group and a political action committee, allowing it to shield the names of donors. / Tennesse Lookout Photo by John Partipilo

By Adam Friedman / Tennessee Lookout July 12, 2024 3 min read

The gun-reform group Voices for a Safer Tennessee donated about $60,000 to state lawmakers ahead of this year’s election, with around 80% of the money going to Republicans.

The group formed in the wake of the March 2023 mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that left six dead, including three children. It pushed state lawmakers last year to pass a law allowing judges to remove guns from those deemed dangerous.

Orders of protection related to guns are often called red flag laws. But Republicans, like Gov. Bill Lee, avoided using the term when proposing the plan due to a negative stigma in conservative circles.

Republican lawmakers refused to discuss the red flag legislation proposed by Lee on two separate occasions, including immediately following the shooting and again during a special session in August.