Send party a message

Following the March 27 shooting at the Covenant School that devastated Nashville, leaving three 9-year-old students and three adults dead, Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee said he would ask the legislature to return to tackle public safety, even as his central proposal, a limited version of a “redflag law” that could allow a judge to temporarily confiscate weapons from people determined to be a possible threat to themselves or others, was vilified by Republicans as an assault on constitutional rights, even though 19 states and the District of Columbia have implemented such laws.

We all know this by now: Americans, regardless of party affiliation, have supported overwhelmingly common-sense gun reforms for years, so why do they not act on the people’s wishes? Your own paper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, called for common-sense gun reforms, action, and implementation of red-flag laws. If Republicans are not sent a clear, resounding message, primarily at the polls, they will continue to turn their backs on our children, schools, and anywhere groups gather.

Why do we vote for a party that we know will not take action to address these continued, alarming, and deadly gun violence trends? Friends, good people, and bright individuals allow this to continue by supporting and voting for a party that has communicated by its lack of action that it does not value life but would instead place guns ahead of schools, families, and those in our communities.

Thank you, Governor Lee! I hope he calls out those of his party and takes this cause to the people of Tennessee because I believe he will find majority support there.

JIM LEWIS

Lincoln