Protesters in Nashville demand Tennessee legislators ‘do something’ on guns
Protesters filled the Tennessee State Capitol on Thursday, March 30, to demand tougher gun safety laws in the wake of the shooting deaths of three children and three adults at The Covenant School in Nashville.
Protesters, most of them high school students from the Nashville area, shouted “do something” at lawmakers as they walked from an elevator to the House chamber.
It was the biggest demonstration many lawmakers and General Assembly staffers can remember — more people were present than after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
Students placed signs supporting gun safety laws below the bust of Andrew Jackson. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian)
Protesters walk from the legislative plaza to the Tennessee State Capitol. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian)
Protesters filled the lobby of the Tennessee State Capitol as the House and Senate conducted their regular business. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian)
Protesters filled the lobby of the Tennessee State Capitol as the House and Senate conducted their regular business. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian)
Protesters filled the lobby of the Tennessee State Capitol as the House and Senate conducted their regular business. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian)
Protesters walk from the legislative plaza to the Tennessee State Capitol. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian)
State Rep. Chris Todd (R-Jackson), who has sponsored a number of gun rights bills, walks through a crowd of protesters on his way to the House chamber. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian)
Two students from Hillsboro High School, the closest high school to the site of the shooting, said their classes were half empty, with so many skipping class to protest at the capitol.
No major gun legislation was on either the House or Senate agendas on Thursday, but a bill to lower the permitless carry age from 21 to 18 is very much alive.
Topics
Tennessee State Capitol gun controlIan Round
Ian Round is The Daily Memphian’s state government reporter based in Nashville. He came to Tennessee from Maryland, where he reported on local politics for Baltimore Brew. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland in December 2019.
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