NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Mothers who have been affected by the gun violence pleaded with Tennessee legislators ahead of this week's Special Session on public safety.
Anna Caudill was a close friend to a victim of The Covenant School shooting.
"We are all here today because we love our kids, all of us here. We love our families, our friends, our communities, our state, and our city. And all Tennesseans want to be safe from gun violence, and we want our kids to return home from school every day safely," Caudill said.
Mothers want a change from our lawmakers on gun control and looking at the Special Session and Gov. Bill Lee to make that change.
"We want to make clear that Governor Lee's proclamation not only falls immensely short but to introduce a bill that would harm teachers as a response to our cries for change is callous, irresponsible, and dangerous. But make no mind about it, we will continue long after this day, long after this week to fight in every way possible to pass common sense gun safety policies. And we will not rest until we live in a safer Tennessee," Caudill said.
Caudill also said that over the last five years, the number of school shooting have skyrocketed, and putting them in adult prison won't help when they are still growing.
"Senator Gardenhire and Senator Sexton (sic) would have you believe that the children of Memphis are out of control, that their crime is so rampant they must be punished with adult prison. And yet, not only has Tennessee's crime rate fallen by 57% in the last 10 years, the children of Memphis have seen a crime rate that has dropped by 77%, better than the rest of the state."
Next was Shaundelle Brooks. Brooks lost her son in the Waffle House shooting in Antioch, and says her daughter had to run from gunfire at a music festival.
"My son, Aldane, was down the street and had to go into lockdown when a shooter walked into the Covenant School and shot and killed three children and three adults. See, all my children have suffered the effects of gun violence And our entire family will feel the trauma for the rest of our lives. This isn't right, it isn't moral, and it isn't just," Brooks said. "As our children go back to school in constant fear of shootings ringing out, our lawmakers will go into special session with no substantive gun violence prevention bills. With no prevention bills being introduced, enough is enough. Protect our kids."
Shana Mackler, a rabbi and mother, said that change needs to be and needs to happen now.
"We can no longer abide by those standing idly by, by those charged to lead us willfully turning a blind eye. We implore you to open your eyes to see the overwhelming support in our state for meaningful legislation that could make us safer. Open your eyes and see that when common sense safety measures and reasonable policies are put aside for the sake of profits, personal power, or position, people die your eyes and see that all rights come with responsibilities. Open your eyes and see that if more guns in more places made us safer, we'd be safe already," Mackler said.
Melissa Joan Hart, a Nashville resident and actor, also spoke at the event. "We aren't asking you to take away guns from law-abiding citizens. We are asking you to take steps towards keeping them out of the hands of those who are deemed dangerous," Hart said.
