Tenn. governor announces special legislative session on gun reform

April 22 (UPI) -- Tennesee Gov. Bill Lee has announced plans to call a special legislative session focused on gun reform in the wake of a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people last month.

The announcement came Friday after Lee, a Republican, and the state's GOP-led Legislature were urged to take action following last month's mass shooting at a Christian school.

Lee said he will release additional details on the special session in the coming days. He issued the call for a special session moments after the Legislature's regular session was adjourned without taking up any gun measures.

"After much input from members of the General Assembly and discussions with legislative leadership, we have decided to call a special session to continue our work to protect Tennessee communities and preserve constitutional rights," Lee said in a statement issued Friday.

"There is broad agreement that dangerous, unstable individuals who intend to harm themselves or others should not have access to weapons," he added.

The governor also made a last-minute pitch Friday for lawmakers to pass a limited law that would keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose an immediate risk of harm to themselves or others.

The state House Republican Caucus, however, called red flag laws a "non-starter."

"I hope that if there is a special session that we can work together on things that we can find, and I hope that there is a lot of public input, and it's not just legislators sitting down and trying to talk amongst ourselves," House Speaker Cameron Sexton told The Tennessean.

Democrats have supported Lee's proposal and also encouraged him to go further.

"We just adjourned w/o passing ANY gun safety legislation," State Sen. Raumesh Akbari, leader of the Tennessee Senate's Democratic minority, said in a Twitter post. "I'm furious and disappointed. But I'm also hopeful. Thankful [Lee] will call a special session to address gun safety. [Democrats] stand ready & willing to help. Together we CAN pass legislation to keep kids safe."