US protesters flood Tennessee statehouse, demand end to gun violence

More than a thousand protesters flooded Tennessee's State Capitol on Thursday demanding stringent action on gun violence days after six people were killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school in the city.

Demonstrators, including parents and students, gathered outside the statehouse in central Nashville and called for immediate action on gun control in the wake of the recent deadly incident and in protest at recurring massacres in schools.

The protesters held aloft placards that read, "No More Silence," and "We have to do better," while chanting "Do you even care?" and "No more violence!"

Local media said the protest was peaceful, but some demonstrators shouted and jostled around lawmakers as Tennessee highway patrol troopers cleared paths for them to enter the House chamber.

"We're here because we still believe that we can make a change. We can. It's a tough state, I get it," said organizer Maryam Abolfazli, cited by local TV station WKRN.

S'Kaila Colbert, carrying her infant daughter, said she had joined the protest "to be a voice for the children,” and “to prioritize their safety.”

The tragic shooting in the US state of Tennessee on Monday morning left three children and three adults dead at a private Christian elementary school.

The attacker, a 28-year-old former student of the school who was armed with two assault-style weapons, was killed during a shootout with a five-member police team, reports said.

After the Nashville attack, US President Joe Biden again called on Congress to reinstate the national assault rifle ban, which existed from 1994 to 2004.

Republican-led Tennessee has in recent years loosened gun laws. In 2021, Governor Bill Lee championed a law passed that year allowing anyone aged 21 and above to carry a firearm, both openly and concealed, without a permit.

Bob Freeman, a Democrat representing Nashville, addressed lawmakers in the House chambers on Thursday, calling for "common-sense" gun reforms, including background checks and red-flag laws to prevent individuals from possessing firearms who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others.

Freeman told his colleagues they had to respond to demonstrators whose chants could be heard outside the chambers. "They're out there right now. They're begging for us to do something," he said.

Monday's incident in Nashville marked the country’s 90th school shooting this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database​​​​​​.

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