After school shooting, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signs bill to shield gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits
The state Senate gave final passage to the bill in mid-April, just weeks after the March 27 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that killed six people, including three 9-year-olds. The House had passed it before the shooting.
The expansion of civil immunity for gun companies was hardly in doubt after lawmakers passed it. Lee has never issued a veto, which lawmakers would have the numbers to override. However, he occasionally has allowed bills to take effect without his signature to signal his concerns or disapproval of a policy.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Joey Hensley from Hohenwald, said during a floor debate last month that his legislation doesn’t prevent any other proposal from passing to make changes after the shooting. He said the bill aims to help out businesses in Tennessee’s booming firearms industry. The firearm industry remains largely shielded from liability under federal law. Seventeen states do not have special immunity for the gun industry. Tennessee was already not one of those states before the bill’s approval, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group. In recent years, some states have moved in the opposite direction of Tennessee by rolling back legal protections for gun manufacturers and dealers.
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After school shooting, Tennessee governor signs bill to shield gun firms further against lawsuitsTennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed off on additional protections for gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits within a bill that lawmakers passed after a deadly school shooting. The Republican governor quietly signed the legislation Thursday. Its provisions take effect July 1. The Senate passed the bill in mid-April, just weeks after the March 27 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that killed six people, including three 9-year-olds. The House had passed it before the shooting. Lee’s approval comes amid his push for Republican lawmakers to pass a proposal that aims to keep guns away from people who could harm themselves or others. He has called lawmakers back for a special session in August.
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