NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On Monday, three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a Nashville private school. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tennessee's rate of gun violence deaths is around 21.3 people per 100,000. That ranks higher than Texas, Georgia and Florida.
A group that ranks states based on their gun safety policies also said that Tennessee lacks several laws that could prevent gun deaths. Everytown research ranked Tennessee as 29th in the country for its gun law strength.
The research comes from a nonprofit group that advocates against gun violence.
The state got points for policies that restrict guns at state capitols or at demonstrations, and for prohibiting fugitives from having guns. The research also said Tennessee bars people from having guns if they were convicted of a hate crime, or if they were found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others due to their mental health.
However, the state still allows people to buy guns if they are convicted of a violent offense and does not have a program requiring officials to identify and seek the removal of illegal guns.
The state also does not regulate assault weapons and does not have "red flag laws," which would remove a gun from someone who is at risk of hurting themselves or others.
This legislative session, the state also introduced several bills that would loosen gun restrictions. One bill brings down the legal age to carry handguns to 18 years old, and another would allow teachers to carry guns in schools.
Mississippi is ranked at the bottom of the list, with the least safe gun laws. California is ranked at the top, according to Everytown research.
Republican lawmakers from Tennessee in the U.S. Congress introduced a resolution that would honor the victims of the shooting.
WBIR reached out to state senators Frank Niceley (R - Strawberry Plains) and Richard Briggs (R - Knoxville) to ask if they could speak on camera about the Nashville shooting and gun laws in the state.
Briggs and Niceley said they had nothing to say.
WBIR also emailed U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R - TN) and Bill Hagerty (R - TN), as well as Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R -TN). They did not respond.