Tennessee's Lee proposes strengthened firearm background checks, protective orders

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Tuesday morning he would be signing an executive order with the goal of strengthening the state’s system for background checks for purchasing firearms.

Lee said the order will require criminal activity to be reported to the system within 72 hours and it will require courts to submit information to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in a timely manner.

Lee said the order comes in response to not only the shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School, which left seven dead, but also Monday’s shooting at a Louisville bank. He held a press conference on the matter Tuesday morning at Nashville’s Midtown Hills Precinct.

“This is not the answer,” Lee said. “This is an appropriate step.”

Lee said he is in discussions with legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle on which other firearm safety measures should be in place in the state.

Lee said he was hoping to have measures passed this session to improve the state’s laws, including a stronger law on orders of protection.

Lee did not give an opinion on last week’s dismissal of Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, from the Tennessee House. He called it a House matter and said he was focused on legislation to make Tennessee safer.

“This is an emotionally charged environment after what happened two weeks ago,” Lee said. “This is not just about school shootings. This legislation would impact the broader community.”

Tuesday’s proposal came just a week after Lee proposed a school safety spending increase in his budget amendment that included funding a School Resource Officer in all of the state’s schools.