NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Sarah Shoop Neumann and Melissa Alexander are no longer strangers to the hallways and meeting rooms inside Cordell Hull, where lawmakers will gather this week for the 2024 legislative session.
The two women — part of The Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows — say they were choosing to remain positive after a tumultuous end to the 2023 legislative session and a special session in August that left grieving families with more questions than answers on gun reform in Tennessee. Both have children who attend The Covenant School, where six people, including three children, were killed in a mass shooting on March 27.
"We got thrown into a different world that we didn't want to be a part of," Neumann said, a black and red Covenant ribbon adorning the front of her shirt. "There's no going back. We are never going to drop our kids and not genuinely give them the biggest hug goodbye in case it's the last."
During the last nine months, the two said their group of families with children affected by the tragedy have been talking to lawmakers — Republican and Democrat. They said they hoped to bridge any gaps in political polarization with a message they find bipartisan: keeping Tennesseans safer from firearms.
They are actively tracking bills and want to see more legislation aimed at background checks, safe storage, and mental health. They would also like what they call a temporary transfer law, which would remove guns from a person who was deemed mentally unstable by a court. The group considered the special session a "learning process" for them to understand how to communicate with lawmakers and fight for legislation.
Since March 27 in Nashville, they've been in contact with every group vying for gun reform across the country that was affected by a mass shooting. Both Republicans and Democrats have dropped firearm bills this session. House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, has filed a bill that would make it a crime for those deemed incompetent by the court to own or purchase firearms. He's also filed a fire alarm bill in memory of William Kinney, one of the children who died in the shooting.
Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, has filed two gun-related bills: one for an extreme risk protection order and another to make it a crime to sell a gun to a person who is prohibited from owning the weapon.
However, one bill directly targets The Covenant School shooting. The legislation from Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, would make it a law that the legislature would have access to all materials related to March 27, including the shooter's documents that are still tied up in the court system.
"That is nothing us parents would support at this time," Alexander said. "So it was disheartening to see. We have notified our parents of the bill and if hits the committee we will be giving our testimony at that time."
But in the large picture, Neumann and Alexander hope they can be an agent of change — despite the trauma, the grief, and the toll it takes to revisit the shooting over and over.
"We think there are solutions that are in line with the Second Amendment that can create safer barriers around gun ownership," Alexander said. "No one is trying to take guns away. We just want to save more lives."
