Key Tennessee Republicans are calling for Metro Nashville authorities to release documents written by The Covenant School shooter, saying it is critical to know the motive behind the murders before a special session is held on gun-law reform.
Sen. Todd Gardenhire, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, recently filed a public records request with Metro Nashville Police seeking the “manifesto” and journals left by Audrey Hale, the person who killed six people, including three 9-year-olds, at the private Christian school in Green Hills.
Giving an indication of Republican lawmakers’ resistance to passing gun control reform, whether in a special session or in the just-completed regular session, Gardenhire said Gov. Bill Lee “should know better than to rush a special session under these circumstances.”
Lee announced Friday night, shortly after the Legislature adjourned without passing an “order of protection” bill, he would call a special session. The governor did not give a time frame, though sometime in mid-May is expected.
In his letter to Metro Nashville Police, Gardenhire notes the documents will be “instrumental in writing new laws regarding school safety,” and that they will be used for research, not commercial purposes. Gardenhire irritated Democrats shortly after the shooting when he said no gun-related bills would make it through the Judiciary Committee in the wake of the shooting.
The department rejected his request, saying those “items remain relevant to an open criminal investigation” and are considered an exception to the state Public Records Act under rule 16 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. The letter from Metro Nashville Police Assistant Chief Mike Hagar notes the department “defers to the legal judgment” of District Attorney General Glenn Funk and other authorities to make sure it complies with rules before releasing the records.
Gardenhire argues that refusing to make the records public contributes to conspiracy theories surrounding the shooting and puts the Legislature in danger of considering legislation just to “do something.”
“The issue that raises is: What does he mean by ongoing criminal investigation? The girl is dead. Are they gonna exhume her and find her guilty? Or are there other people involved in this thing?” Gardenhire said.
The information needs to be disclosed to put rumors “to rest,” he said, adding until then, “Gov. Lee is helping to rush into some kind of special session not knowing the facts and not releasing the facts.”
Gardenhire said he believes it important to know the details behind the private school shooting, not just information about incidents such as the 2018 Waffle House shooting in Antioch and Burnette Chapel murder in 2017.
House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison made a similar demand of Metro Nashville Police and the FBI on Twitter, pointing out that people want the Legislature to “do something” in response to the school shooting perpetrated by Audrey Hale.
“We cannot possibly address this horrific situation until we know what was in her manifesto,” Faison, a Cosby Republican, said.
Hale was a student at prek-6 The Covenant School as a child, but police have not given a glimpse into her motive for the shooting.
State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, countered the Republicans’ view, saying the focus should be “less on ‘what was in [this particular killer’s] manifesto’ and more on how we’re going to work together across the aisle to enact a law that will allow for the timely and temporary removal of firearms from individuals who pose a threat to themselves and others.”
Clemmons pointed out people expect a “sense of urgency” among the Legislature to enact “common-sense, constitutional” gun laws to protect children and communities from gun violence.
Since the murders took place March 27, thousands of people have rallied at the Capitol, seeking tighter restrictions on guns, including prohibitions on military-style weapons, “red flag” laws, cooling off periods for gun purchases and tougher background checks.
Lee floated a bill last week to create an “order of protection” enabling confiscation of weapons from people deemed a danger to themselves and others. It would have allowed due process hearings, unlike other “red flag” laws.
But Republican lawmakers balked at the idea and refused to take action after pro-gun organizations lobbied against it.
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