I'll give the governor credit: Those Republican state legislators do NOT want the spotlight on their gun positions again. Good on him for taking a stand! Via the Tennessean:

Less than two hours after the state legislature adjourned until 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced plans to soon call lawmakers back to the State Capitol for a special legislative session focused on gun reform.

Lee's action follows calls from both sides of the aisle for a special session focused on gun policy, and demonstrations by thousands of protestors calling for a response to the deadly shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville last month.

[...] "There is broad agreement that dangerous, unstable individuals who intend to harm themselves or others should not have access to weapons," Lee said in a statement released Friday evening. "We also share a strong commitment to preserving Second Amendment rights, ensuring due process, and addressing the heart of the problem with strengthened mental health resources."

That's nice, really. But here's what the state legislators just passed -- not in response to the mass slaying of children (it was already in the pipeline), but they went ahead with it anyway:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In the wake of a deadly school shooting last month, Republican lawmakers in Tennessee awarded final passage Tuesday to a proposal that would further protect gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits.

The Senate’s 19-9 vote sends the bill to Republican Gov. Bill Lee, despite pushback from Democratic lawmakers saying their GOP counterparts are trying to shield gun companies just weeks after the Nashville school shooting that killed six people, including three 9-year-olds.

The final vote came as Lee’s administration was still trying to drum up enough support among lawmakers in his party to pass legislation to keep firearms away from people who could harm themselves or others. The fate of that kind of measure remains uncertain.

So now, the question is: Is the governor going to sign it?

Personally, I don't think any state can create a mental health system robust enough to address this problem. What they CAN do, however, is require an anger management course as a condition of buying a gun.

They just don't have the cojones to do it.

UPDATE: Oh, look.