Nashville school shooting evokes anti-transgender sentiments

Tennessee’s Republican-controlled legislature recently banned gender-affirming medical care, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for anyone under 18, despite US medical associations saying such treatment can save lives When Nashville police announced that the shooter who killed three children and three adults at a school this week was transgender, trans-Tennesseans braced themselves for renewed vitriol in a state that has recently proposed a raft of anti-trans laws. Some later left the pews to head to a laptop set up in the church’s hallway, where they could send a petition to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, to enact “commonsense gun safety measures.” After the service, Bennett, who has a trans son, said one of her congregants had been confronted and “told they were the cause, that this was God’s repudiation of gay people, and that ‘you and your people are going to hell for eternity,’” she said. Now we’re even more of a target than ever before.” Protestor demand action on gun access Protesters flooded Tennessee’s statehouse on Thursday to demand lawmakers stiffen gun laws following a school shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, three of them 9-year-old children. Protesters flooded Tennessee's statehouse to demand lawmakers stiffen gun laws following the school shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, three of them 9-year-old children https://t.co/5oiYoQ7TSb pic.twitter.com/iGwDb80Enq — Reuters March 31, 2023 State Representative Bob Freeman, a Democrat representing Nashville, on Thursday addressed lawmakers in the House chambers, 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.