As the Southern Baptist Speaker of the House in Tennessee continues to stall attempts to address gun violence, some Southern Baptist leaders and United Methodist leaders in the state are calling for more to be done.
Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton led the effort to humiliate and expel three members of the body who demanded action on gun legislation after six people were killed at a nearby private Christian school.
Randy Davis, president of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, and Brent Leatherwood, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, organized an April 19 letter to members of the Tennessee General Assembly calling for action. The letter was signed by 13 Tennessee pastors — 11 of them Southern Baptists.
The conservative religious leaders urged support of Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal “to strengthen our state’s order of protection laws to protect the broader population from those who are a danger to themselves or others.”
Brent Leatherwood
Leatherwood has three children enrolled at Covenant Christian School, where the March 27 mass shooting occurred.
“In Tennessee, upward of 20% of the populace identifies as Southern Baptist. The members of these churches who gather weekly across the state care deeply about life and the protection of all people made in the image of God,” the letter states. “They believe in protecting innocent children from violence and struggling people from self-harm.
“Thus, we are writing to urge you to act to support Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal to strengthen our state’s order of protection laws to protect the broader population from those who are a danger to themselves or others. His framework is a thoughtful approach to ensure we protect the constitutional rights of citizens while also helping to protect potential victims from dangerous individuals. Allowing law enforcement to work with loved ones in order to lead a process that involves full due process in the judicial system, this will ensure individuals who could cause great harm are temporarily kept from accessing weapons, protecting them and others from potential tragedy.”
Lee’s proposal would temporarily block someone who is deemed a threat to themselves or to others from having guns. The proposal is opposed by Lee’s own Republican Party, which controls the state government.
The letter writers contend Lee’s proposal honors biblical teachings on care for vulnerable people while also respecting the Constitution’s Second Amendment.
“As Tennesseans, we urge the Legislature to pursue policies that help protect the vulnerable from harm in our great state,” the letter states. “As Southern Baptists, we want to see the government take steps to help end this ‘epidemic of gun violence.’ Gov. Lee’s proposal does that.”
Meanwhile, historic McKendree United Methodist Church in downtown Nashville was the site for an April 17 demonstration for stronger gun laws that involved hundreds of Tennessee clergy and their congregants heeding the call of a nationally known religious leader.
Gun safety advocates and faith leaders carry empty caskets symbolizing victims to the Tennessee Capitol for a ”Moral Monday” rally to address gun violence on April 17, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Nigro/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
William J. Barber II, leader of the Moral Mondays movement and the Poor People’s Campaign, rallied hundreds of Tennesseans demanding stricter gun laws in the wake of the Covenant School murders.
“Have these deaths scared us to life yet?” Barber was quoted by the Nashville Tennessean, as the crowd prepared to leave McKendree UMC and march down Nashville’s Church Street to the state Capitol. Forty-five of the marchers carried five caskets and one urn to represent the six Covenant shooting victims, and they laid the caskets on the Capitol steps.
The marchers also were demonstrating against the expulsion of two of the “Tennessee Three” legislators who disrupted the state legislature demanding stronger gun restrictions. One of the expelled members, Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, marched with the crowd and was prayed for by some of the clergy. Jones attends Vanderbilt Divinity School.
With additional reporting by Cynthia Astle.
Related articles:
Online petition calls for Tennessee Speaker of the House to resign
Tennessee legislators turn back the clock to Jim Crow time | Opinion by Rodney Kennedy
Dear Tennessee legislators: You are driving people away from faith | Opinion by Brad Bull