We Survived a Shooting: Now What?
The Tennessee State House of Representatives meets for a special session.
Columbine. Sandy Hook. Uvalde. Parkland. Virginia Tech. Covenant.
I want to list them all, but I can’t, because the list is too long and the horror to unfathomable for a Monday morning. And yet, that’s when it happened in Nashville. On a run-of-the-mill Monday morning in March, when the weather was good and summer break just over the horizon. In the weeks that came after — while our community mourned and held funerals and huddled, horrified by the impossible weight of grief — we all cried and prayed and wondered. How can we make any real change? How can we ensure that we don’t travel the horribly predictable pattern that seems to follow every mass shooting? How can we actually make real, lasting change to the threat of gun-violence?
There have been concerts, fundraisers and countless protests. But then came summer and the momentum seemed to shift, as it always does. And then came the start of a new school year. Administrators around the country began sending out e-mails like the one, sent by Covenant Principal Katherine Koonce in the wake of the 2022 mass shooting at Uvalde Elementary School. Covenant parent, Becky Hansen, shared Principal Koonce’s e-mail and added, “She goes on to say all the ways we are safe in our school. It took my breath away, seeing that date and knowing less than a year later she would be killed by an active shooter in our precious school.”
Earlier this year, Governor Bill Lee called for a special session of the Tennessee State House of Representatives to address the need for policy changes around public safety. That session convenes today — and will likely last anywhere from three to five days. In anticipation of this special session, Nicole Smith, board President and founding member of Voices for a Safer Tennessee agreed to speak with me.
Nicole is a Tennessee native. She grew up in Smyrna, went to school in Nashville, and attended Vanderbilt University where she met her husband. They have two boys, age 5 and 8. With a professional background in communication and advocacy work, Nicole became instrumental in the foundation of a new, nonpartisan organization championing legislative change around gun safety in our state. Below, you’ll find a portion of our conversation.
How did you get involved with Voices for A Safer Tennessee?
I had watched for many, many years mass shootings happening at schools across the country. And not just that, but the daily gun violence that was happening in every corner and pocket of our city. I almost became numb to it.
The Covenant shooting really hit close to home in a way that removed the numbness and told me that I had to act. I remember starting to receive the news reports that there was an active shooter at a private Christian school in Nashville. My children go to a private Christian school in Nashville, less than two miles from Covenant. I can’t even describe the feeling I had at that moment, not knowing if they were okay.
Really the moment I knew I had to do something more was when we had to tell our seven year-old son what had happened, I will never forget the look in his eyes because I watched his innocence leave that day. I saw it leave his sweet little body.
Another school parent invited me and a couple of women over to her home to brainstorm about how to make something happen. The next thing I knew, I was in a coffee shop building a communications plan. That was the beginning of it for me. Since then, It’s just gotten bigger and bigger in so many ways. I wish I didn’t have to be in this moment, but I am so inspired and grateful for the many Tennesseans across every county of this state who have raised their hand and said this isn’t about politics, it’s a public health crisis and we have to come together as human beings, parents, grandparents, faith leaders, business leaders, republicans, democrats, and say: “Let’s link arms, and let’s make change and find common ground and listen to each other.”
What this special session is going to look like? What should Tennesseans expect?
According to a variety of sources and recent polls, there are several policy priorities that eighty percent of Tennesseans can get behind. We have three areas of focus: Temporary transfer laws, stronger firearm storage laws, and consistent background check requirements across all firearms points of sale, including gun shows and online sales. (Click here for more on these priorities.)
Regarding special session — we’re hopeful for a broader scope for discussion for these solutions. We commend Governor Lee for commissioning the call and calling the session, but understand this session is not going to be the end of the conversation in any way shape or form. The challenges around firearm safety are complex. These conversations are going to take time to address. What we’re sharing with our members is that we have to start somewhere. We’re very committed to be here for this session and the session after that and the session after that.
This will not be solved in one week.
One of the main arguments I hear against the tightening of gun safety laws, is that these kinds of events will happen anyway. In effect, ‘an evil person is going to find a way to do evil no matter what.’ What would you say to those people?
If we can stop one more homicide, one more suicide, one more mass shooting, than that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to take the steps. We’ve seen over the last decade the issue has only gotten worse and worse.
Laws like the ones we are proposing have been shown to be impactful in other states. I would encourage people to look at the data. Understandably, our feelings in this issue are rooted in emotion. That’s where mine started and where mine still are many many days. If you put that emotion to the side and look at the facts and the data, you’ll find a stark reality about what is happening every day in our state.
How can people get involved? What do we do now? What do we do moving forward?
This is the absolute most important part of this. Use your voice. Talk about gun safety with your spouse, your neighbor, and other parents at school. We’ve got to educate and bring awareness and make it a topic that becomes more comfortable to talk about and not to worry about the politics because [gun violence] is not a political issue — it’s a public health crisis.
Engage in the democratic process. Vote, and make sure your policymakers are hearing your voice. Educate yourself on the issue and then find your legislators’ contact information and shoot them an email or schedule a meeting or make a phone call. They need to hear their constituents want change in these issues.
And of course, we’d invite anyone interested to sign up to receive information from Voices for a Safer Tennessee and to follow us on social media. We’re sharing educational information and very specific ways people can take action. The further away we get from the tragedy at the Covenant School, the more important it is to keep the momentum strong and keep the conversation going, in a respectful and civil way.
Thank you so much for Nicole Smith and Voices for a Safer TN for making time to speak with me. For more information visit www.safertn.org and make sure to access the Safer TN Toolkit.
The photographs above were taken by Katelyn Brown on April 6, 2023 at the Tennessee State House in Nashville, Tennessee. Photos were used with permission.
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