Not Much Hope Predicted for 'Red Flag Law'

A key Republican state legislator said recently that so called “red flag” laws will not pass during a special state legislative session in August.

State Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, who represents the 28th district of Giles, Lewis, Marshall, Maury and part of Williamson counties, made the comments at the May meeting of the Giles County Republican Party.

Under “red flag laws,” guns can be removed temporarily from people who might be considered dangerous to themselves or others.

While Hensley spoke at the May county Democratic Party meeting about “red flag laws,”, he has not changed his position since.

Gov. Bill Lee has called a special session of the State Legislature in August to look at Tennessee laws regarding ownership and possession of guns, following the slaying this spring by police of a shooter inside Covenant School in Nashville.

“The “red flag” law won’t pass, the legislature won’t pass it,” Hensley said to the approximately 40 spectators at the meeting.

The State Legislature, he said, had a productive session.

Hensley is the second vice chairman of the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee.

He is also a member 0f the Council on Pensions, Education and Health and Welfare committees.

This last session, Tennessee acted to protect the rights of the unborn, he said, and also has put more money into public education

“The important thing is that people like you stand up for what’s right,” he said.

On another matter, 22nd Judicial District Judges Christopher Sockwell and Caleb Essary talked briefly about an additional circuit court judgeship funded by the state.

Giles, Lawrence, Maury and Mayne counties are in the 22nd Judicial District.

The 22nd Judicial District experienced a population increase of 12 percent between 2010 and 2020, and the three most recent Weighted Caseload Studies conducted by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury found a consistent need for an additional judicial position, according to information from the Tennessee Office of the Clerk of Courts.

A public hearing on attorneys Lee Brooks, Marshall County; Julie C. Heffington, Columbia and Patricia Doughtery, Lawrenceburg; who have applied for the position will be in the Maury County Tom Primm Commission Meeting Room at 6 Public Square, Columbia, at 9 a.m., July 13.

Besides Essary and Sockwell, other 22nd circuit court judges are Russell Parkes and David Allen.