NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Hundreds of people protested at the Tennessee Capitol on Thursday in favor of tighter gun controls, haranguing the Republican-led Legislature to take action following this week’s mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville in which three children and three adults were killed.
— NASHVILLE, Tenn. Hundreds of people protested at the Tennessee Capitol on Thursday in favor of tighter gun controls, haranguing the Republican-led Legislature to take action following this week’s mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville in which three children and three adults were killed.
Chants of “Save our children!” echoed noisily in the hallways between the state Senate and House chambers, with protesters setting up shop inside and outside the Capitol. Some silently filled the Senate chamber’s gallery, including children who held signs reading “I’m nine” — a reference to the age of the three kids who died in Monday’s attack at The Covenant School. Most protesters were removed from the gallery after some began yelling down at the lawmakers, “Children are dead!”
The rally followed a Wednesday night candlelight vigil in Nashville where Republican lawmakers stood alongside first lady Jill Biden, Democratic lawmakers and musicians including Sheryl Crow, who has called for stricter gun controls since the attack.
The vigil was somber and at times tearful, as speaker after speaker read the victims’ names and offered condolences to their loved ones but refrained from any statement that could be seen as political. The family of Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian who was among those killed, was in attendance, including his seven children.
“Just two days ago was our city’s worst day,” Mayor John Cooper said. “I so wish we weren’t here, but we need to be here.”
In attendance was Shaundelle Brooks, whose 23-year-old son, Akilah Dasilva, was among the four people killed in a 2018 shooting at a Nashville Waffle House.
