One year ago, three nine-year-old children and three adults were gunned down at the Covenant School in Nashville in the deadliest school shooting in Tennessee history. In the wake of that tragedy, a group of Tennesseans from across the political spectrum came together to find ways to reduce the harm of gun violence in their state. You need to watch to understand what we’re up against.

Excerpts – Judy Woodruff reports for her series, America at a Crossroads. 3/27/24 – PBS NewsHour

• Judy Woodruff: The event was organized by the national nonpartisan nonprofit named Starts With Us, which aims to bring people from diverse backgrounds together to find solutions to the country’s toughest issues.
• Tim Carroll: We’re being fed a narrative that everybody hates everybody else. When we sit down like we are today, we know that’s not the case.
• Judy Woodruff: The Tennessee 11, as they call themselves, shared personal experiences and expertise, and ultimately came together last August to draft five proposals that they felt could help address gun violence.
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• Judy Woodruff: Then, in August of last year, Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Lee called a special session to enact gun safety measures, but no proposal passed.That same week, the Tennessee 11 convened to try to hammer out some solutions of their own. Four of their proposals centered on measures that would not restrict access to firearms, things like promoting responsible gun ownership, broadening the role of police officers in schools, working to reduce trauma from gun violence, and increasing understanding of gun issues in schools, communities, and the media.The one measure they agreed on that focused on restricting gun access became the most controversial, allowing the temporary removal of firearms from individuals based on the risk that they may commit a violent act.
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• Judy Woodruff:The group invited over 100 Tennessee legislators to attend their session, but only 10 showed up.