Mass Shootings

The Hill reports: A Nashville, Tenn., florist is refusing to serve a Republican National Committee (RNC) fundraiser featuring former President Trump in protest over lack of action on gun control laws. In a statement posted on Instagram this week, FLWR Shop said it declined an inquiry from the RNC to provide floral design services for a fundraising event in Nashville …

The Tennessean reports: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at strengthening background checks for firearm purchases, in addition to calling for lawmakers to pass an order of protection law to keep guns away from people who present a danger to themselves or others. “I’m asking the General Assembly to bring forward an order of protection …

Reuters reports: The 23-year-old bank employee who shot dead five colleagues and wounded nine other people at his workplace in Louisville on Monday legally purchased the rifle, Louisville Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday. The gun used to carry out the attack was bought at a local dealership on April 4, the chief said. …

“The Democratic Party and Big Pharma that are unleashing the crazies on you, and nobody seems to have a solution for it. So here’s one. We need to reopen the asylums. There are severely mentally ill people who do not have a right to wander our streets seeking and selecting who they are going to terrorize, whether there is criminal …

Kentucky.com reports: Louisville police confirmed five people were killed and six others were injured from an active shooter situation in downtown Louisville Monday, according to multiple media reports. Reports of an active shooter first came in at approximately 8:30 a.m., LMPD Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said to media. Arriving officers heard gunshots. One officer was transported to a hospital, according …

Memphis’s Fox affiliate reports: A Shelby County commissioner told FOX13 on Friday that Nashville leaders are threatening to take away funding from Memphis and other Shelby County projects if the county commission decides to reinstate expelled state Rep. Justin J. Pearson. According to Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, leaders in Nashville threatened to pull state funding for projects in the …

The Associated Press reports: In an extraordinary act of political retaliation, Tennessee Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest calling for more gun control in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. A third Democrat was narrowly spared by a one-vote margin. The split votes drew accusations of …

The Tennessean reports: Ten days after a shooter unloaded 152 rounds inside a Nashville school and killed six people, Tennessee House Republicans on Thursday began attempts to expel from the General Assembly three Democratic lawmakers for breaking House rules and mounting a gun reform protest on the chamber’s floor. The House expelled Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, on a 72-25 vote …

The Tennessean reports: Cheers erupted as Jones, Johnson and Pearson stepped off the elevator on the second floor at 9:02 a.m. Raising joined hands, they slowly walked down between lines of state troopers toward the House chamber door. From the floor, they roused cheers from the crowd in the galleries before the chamber gaveled in for business. During welcoming and …

Media Matters has the transcript: Having an armed citizenry comes with a price, and that is part of liberty. Driving comes with a price — 50,000 people die on the road every year. That’s a price. You get rid of driving, you’d have 50,000 less auto fatalities. But we have decided that the benefit of driving — speed, accessibility, mobility, …

Reuters reports: Republicans who control the Tennessee House of Representatives will vote on Thursday on whether to expel three Democratic members for their role in a gun control demonstration at the statehouse last week. Last Friday’s protest saw hundreds of demonstrators flood into the statehouse, four days after a Nashville school shooting ended with three 9-year-old children and three school …

NBC News reports: The victims of the 2017 mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in which 26 were killed, have reached a “tentative agreement” with the Justice Department to settle a case against the federal government for $144.5 million. If given approval, which is expected, it would end a yearslong legal battle over a federal judge’s ruling …

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee Republican lawmakers took the first steps Monday to expel three Democratic members from the GOP-dominant House for their role in a recent gun control protest at the state Capitol. The extraordinarily rare move resulted in a chaotic and fiery confrontation between lawmakers and supporters opposing the move. Resolutions have been filed against Reps. Gloria Johnson, …

The Knoxville News reports: The Republican leadership of Tennessee’s House of Representatives stripped state Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, of her committee assignments April 3 in retaliation for her peaceful participation in last week’s demonstration for gun reform that spilled over to the House floor March 30, Knox News has learned. When asked whether her assignments had been rescinded, state Rep. …

Click Orlando reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 543 into law Monday, which will allow Floridians to carry a concealed firearm without the need for a permit. The governor’s office confirmed DeSantis’ signing to News 6, releasing a photo of the event. In the photo, the governor is flanked by several state leaders and members of law enforcement, including Brevard …

NBC News reports: Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature has passed a bill to allow people to carry concealed loaded weapons anywhere without permits. The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has repeatedly indicated he will sign it. The measure would scrap existing requirements for concealed weapons permits, including an extra layer of background checks, licensing and firearms training. Under …

Vice News reports: A high school athletics department in a small town in central Ohio is raffling off powerful firearms—including an AR-15—to raise funds to buy equipment for the track team. The gun raffle, in aid of the Upper Sandusky Rams Track and Field, has been so popular that this week the organizers announced all 500 $10 tickets have been …

ABC News reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will travel to Cobb County, Georgia, on Thursday to visit a popular gun store as part of his ongoing book tour ahead of what is expected to be a presidential campaign announcement this summer. The previously scheduled trip happens to come days after a shooter killed six people at a private school in …

The Hill reports: The GOP Tennessee congressman who said nothing will be done to “fix” gun violence following this week’s deadly school shooting in Nashville responded Thursday to the “hatred” he has received over his comments. “I realize their hatred towards me and my beliefs, and that’s fine,” Rep. Tim Burchett said in a Thursday interview on Fox. During his …

New York City’s NBC affiliate reports: A Democratic lawmaker who was screaming about Republicans’ approach to gun violence just off the House floor on Wednesday soon got into a tense altercation with one of his conservative colleagues. An animated Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., a former principal, came off the floor and began telling reporters to continue to press GOP members …