Democratic Bus Tour Comes to Chattanooga

A group of Democratic legislators and activists in front of the “Our Kids Deserve Better” school bus at Miller Park.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Tennessee State Democrats are gearing up for next week’s Special Session on Public Safety.

Democratic state legislators and activists brought their statewide Bus Tour to Miller Park Wednesday evening.

The rally was held just days before the special session called by Governor Bill Lee will commence on Monday.

Local representative Yusuf Hakeem was joined by colleagues John Ray Clemmons, Bo Mitchell, and Tennessee Three member Gloria Johnson on stage to rally for stronger gun laws.

Representative Clemmons said, “We’re traveling around the state of Tennessee. Talking to people about this issue. Getting perspectives and opinions on both sides of the gun debate.”

At topic are the proposals laid out by Governor Lee and the Republican supermajority.

Governor Lee says the proposals are focusing on tackling mental health and other related issues as it pertains to mass violence.

The Democratic lawmakers however say that his proposals are not going far enough.

Representative Mitchell said, “He’s called me back into special session to about gun violence, but he’s precluded me from offering any legislation about guns.”

Representative Hakeem says he’s considering pushing for a popular referendum concerning gun violence depending on the results of the special session.

This would likely require a certain number of signatures to be collected and potentially approval by the state legislature to be placed on a ballot.

He believes it would send a message.

He said, “That 80 percent (of Tennesseans) we’ve been talking about, of both people from different perspectives and viewpoints, who feel like the issue should be the safety of our children, as opposed to what is in the best interests the gun manufacturers and the lobbyists.”

The yellow school bus is what the state Democratic Party behind me is using as their symbolism. 

The school bus reads “Our Kids Deserve Better.”

Representative Clemmons said on stage that the amount of seats on the school bus represent the amount of kids that have been killed by gunfire this summer.

For those who have dealt with gun violence, they are anxious to see the result of next week’s events.

Satedra Smith, an activist who has lost a son to gun violence, said, “I want them to consider to consider of all of these, because people’s lives matter. They matter. Don’t matter what color they are, right? Don’t matter, we all bleed the same blood and the color of it is red.”

The tour will continue tomorrow morning in Athens, Tennessee.

The Democratic Bus Tour will be at the Market Pavillon at 10:45 A-M.

A group of Republicans in McMinn County, led by Senator Adam Lowe, will be holding a counter rally at the McMinn County Courthouse at 10 A-M.

Senator Lowe said in a Facebook post that he sees the tour as performative and urges local conservatives to demonstrate for their Second Amendment rights.

News 12 was approached by some local Democrats saying they were concerned about some online rhetoric.

However, one organizer of the rally has told us that he is urging rally goers to be peaceful and respectful.

Senator Lowe echoed those sentiments in a separate post and says he welcomes civil discourse.