Advocates call for legislation to protect children from gun violence while in school
Parents and pastors joined together to call on the Tennessee General Assembly to take action on legislation designed to reduce gun violence in schools. The Southern Christian Coalition cited polling conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt University indicating a majority of Tennessee parents are concerned about the potential for gun violence in their child's school.
Kari Kuefler, mother and gun safety advocate shared her agreement with the polling results.
"I'm not at all surprised by the results of Vanderbilt's polling that indicated that the majority of Tennessee parents worry about gun violence at school. All of us, no matter where we live or the color of our skin, want to raise our children in safe communities where we can trust that they are safe at school. As a survivor of the Las Vegas shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in 2017 I know from personal experience that a mass shooting can happen when you least expect it and fear it could happen again to me or my children. I have watched in horror as gun violence has become normalized in America as states like Tennessee have loosened gun restrictions against the wishes of their constituents, just like how Governor Lee signed dangerous permitless carry into law in 2021."
Rev. Rick Roberts, Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Nashville responded to the polling in agreement with the results.
"As Christians, we believe no matter where anyone lives, the color of their skin, we ALL deserve to live safely without gun violence and that should especially apply to our children at school. As a pastor it is my moral obligation as a Christian to stand for legislation that keeps our communities safe."
The group called on legislators to reject legislation that would allow further proliferation of guns and suggested that instead, legislators should focus on common sense solutions, like red flag laws that could limit access to purchasing weapons in cases where mental illness or imminent danger is suspected.
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