After shooting, more calls for gun control
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Democratic lawmakers called for tighter gun laws to restrict people with known mental issues or previous gun confiscations from carrying weapons in Tennessee, but said it is unlikely their Republican counterparts will act.
Democrats held a news conference Monday following the Sunday morning shooting at an Antioch Waffle House. Authorities say 29-year-old Travis Reinking fatally shot killed four people using an AR-15 rifle.
After a 34-hour manhunt, police captured Reinking on Monday afternoon. He was booked into jail on $2 million bond, and faces four counts of criminal homicide.
Reinking was arrested in 2017 after entering a restricted area near the White House. After the arrest, he had his guns confiscated. They were turned over to his father, according to authorities.
The lawmakers pointed to that case and reports that Reinking recently acted “paranoid.” But they also cited Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson, who said he was not immediately aware of any Tennessee law Reinking would have violated by possessing guns in Nashville, despite the actions in Illinois.
State Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, offered condolences to the friends and family members of those who died in the shooting, but said those words should not be empty gestures.
“It’s incumbent on all of us, legislator and citizen alike, to do everything in our power to ensure that events like the one that happened in Antioch over the weekend do not become treated as some inevitable, unavoidable disaster that we are powerless to stop,” he said.
“The sad reality is that the alleged shooter didn’t break any laws until he got out of his car and opened fire.”
The Democrats proposed legislation, which would be added as a last-minute amendment to an existing bill, clarifying that when a court has adjudicated that a person should not possess a weapon, it would be illegal to possess the gun in Tennessee — regardless of whether the court is in the state.
It would also make it illegal for such a person to buy a gun in Tennessee, as well as for someone to give or loan that person a gun.
Following the 2017 incident, Illinois officials seized a state-issued card from Reinking the state requires to own a weapon. But when authorities came to confiscate the weapon, the officials agreed to instead turn the four guns over to Reinking’s father, who also had a card. Among those weapons was the AR-15 used during the Sunday shooting.
Also, the proposed measure would make it illegal for someone who failed a background check to avoid the process by purchasing a gun from a private individual.
Yarbro said the proposed measure is not part of an agenda to chip away at the Second Amendment, but an effort to close loopholes he said most people don’t know exist.
Throughout this legislative session, Democrats have butted heads with Republicans on gun legislation and often have proposed measures to tighten gun laws only to see them defeated committees, sometimes with no discussion.
Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, made a grim prediction on Republicans’ reaction to the measure before the House session.
“If you guys are there this evening, you’re going to see three things happen. Somebody is going to stand up and say something about the tragedy that happened and say, ‘Let’s have a moment of silence,’” he said. “We’re gonna have our moment of silence. We’re gonna try to say something, as Democrats. They’re going to cut off debate and then nothing will be done.”
Congressional delegation
Meanwhile, members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation also responded to the Antioch shooting in statements on Monday.
U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, said authorities need more tools to keep firearms away from dangerous people, but Republicans in Congress have tried to weaken gun laws.
“Their goals include making it easier for mentally ill people to own a gun and passing concealed carry reciprocity — the NRA’s #1 priority — which would do even more damage to the gun laws Tennessee has,” he said.
He said he believed gun restrictions specific to certain individuals should apply across state lines.
A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, said Cohen believed congressional hearings should be held on the gun possession issues that have been raised following the Waffle House shooting.
A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood, said Blackburn participated in a bipartisan discussion at the White House on the gun laws in February where she raised concerns about the mental health system and violence in culture.
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, echoed those sentiments, saying, “we should improve our background check system to prevent criminals and mentally ill individuals from obtaining firearms while at the same time ensure that our Second Amendment rights are not infringed upon.”
The senator said he would support practical solutions that meet that test.
A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R- Tennessee, said the senator “supports making laws more effective that keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, including improving background checks.”