The recent back-to-back mass shootings in Texas and Ohio have prompted a national conversation on gun control laws.
One of the measures being discussed, both nationally and at the state level, are so-called "red flag" laws.
WPLN's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán has been talking to state lawmakers about why these proposals suddenly seem so popular — and why some legislators are still skeptical.
The following are excerpts from recent interviews:
House Majority Leader William Lamberth on his stance against the red flag laws:
"We don't take people's Fourth Amendment Rights or First Amendment Rights, or Second Amendment Rights or Fifth Amendment Rights without proper due process, without making sure that everyone knows what the rules are ahead of time. But, making sure that there is a process to ensure that — again — folks get the help that they need and that we prevent these tragedies from occurring."
New York State Sen. Brian Kavanagh on why the national conversation is revolving around red flag legislation:
"Red flag laws are in many people's minds, including many people in the general public, tailored to what they are seeing. What they see is usually a lone individual. Usually with tremendous firepower, often inexplicably, sometimes with a motive that can be identified as a motive of hate, a motive of revenge, going in and doing something truly horrific. And it is often the case that we perceive there to have been warning signs, behavior before the incident that suggests that somebody could have identified that as a person that should've not had access to a firearm."
Our ongoing conversations about Tennessee politics are available in The Tri-Star State podcast. You can listen by visiting
wpln.org/tristar or subscribe using your favorite podcasting app.
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