VANDERBILT STUDENT PROTEST
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APRIL 4, 2024 | VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 13
Thousands of demonstrators linked arms throughout Nashville on March 27, 2024, marking the one year anniversary of the Covenant School shooting and continuing to call for gun reforms. PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
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Covenant School mother Sarah Shoop Neumann (left) and District 60 House candidate Shaundelle Brooks (right), both of whom are the mothers of gun violence victims, embrace at the March 27, 2024 memorial. PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Looking back a year after the Covenant School shooting
People are still grieving the deaths of three students and three staff members — and still asking for gun safety legislation BY KELSEY BEYELER All around Nashville, you’ll still find homes displaying black-and-red ribbons, or yard signs showing support for the Covenant School community following a mass shooting at the private school on March 27, 2023. The city now knows the names of the six victims: 9-year-olds Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney, along with school staff Cynthia Peak (61), Mike Hill (61) and Katherine Koonce (60). So much has happened since then, yet so little has changed. In the year since the Covenant School tragedy, we’ve learned more about those whose lives were taken. Through statements from parents and family friends, we know that Hallie was the first downstairs on
Christmas morning, and that William was brave and kind. Through a NewsChannel 5 interview with Evelyn’s parents, we learned she squeezed tight during hugs. Peak was a passionate longtime educator; Hill was a kind man with a deep dedication to both Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Covenant School. Koonce was a strong leader who devoted herself to those around her until her last breath. Following the shooting, the city united in grief at a vigil held at the steps of City Hall. The next day, thousands of people channeled their anger into calls for action at the steps of the state Capitol. Inside, Reps. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) and Justin Jones (D-Nashville)
protested gun violence from the House floor — a move that motivated House leaders to call for their expulsions. Protests continued as the three Democrats, who became known nationally as the Tennessee Three, faced expulsion hearings. Jones and Pearson were expelled, but were quickly reinstated by their respective city councils. Johnson escaped expulsion by just one vote. During the remainder of last year’s legislative session, students, parents, faith leaders and community members of all stripes continued showing up at the Capitol calling for gun reform and seeking justice for the lawmakers who faced expulsion. At times the energy was intense, but protests remained
peaceful. Galvanized by the tragedy, people with different viewpoints supported one another, sang together, marched together and modeled the kind of bipartisanship that they asked for but did not see from members of the Tennessee General Assembly. Amid pressure from protesters and scrutiny at a national level, Republicans fought among themselves, the Senate chose not to hear any gun-related legislation for the duration of the session, and lawmakers rushed the session to a close in late April. Lawmakers and right-wing media figures demanded to see the shooter’s writings, which were not released during the Metro Nashville Police Department’s investigation (which was assisted by the >> PAGE 2
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