When Mary Joyce first started showing up to the Tennessee Capitol last year to push lawmakers to pass gun safety reforms, she didn’t expect political advocacy to become one of the major priorities of her life.
But the mother of a Covenant School student is now settling in for the long haul along with other Tennessee advocates seeking significant gun safety reforms, even as many have been disappointed by what they see as inaction by the General Assembly, where Republicans hold a supermajority. Reform efforts ramped up after a shooter left three 9-year-olds and three adult staff members dead at Covenant last spring.
For the advocates, the urgency of addressing gun violence in Tennessee has not diminished since the shooting. Firearms remain the leading cause of death for Tennessee kids, according to the most recent state data, at a rate 36% higher than the national average. In late May, four Nashville area teens were shot in five days. One-third of all Nashville homicide victims this year have been minors, with teens also frequently arrested in the shootings.
This time last year, Joyce thought a gun safety lobby coalesced around Covenant families would show up for the 2023 special session and witness progress toward its goals.
“Surely, they’re going to listen to us,” Joyce remembers thinking. “It was a rude awakening, for all of us, to realize we have a huge battle here.”
The session ended with no significant legislation and increasingly apparent legislative dysfunction, a deep disappointment to gun safety groups and advocates, many of whom were becoming aware of some Tennessee political realities for the first time. Though there wasn’t a single light bulb moment for Joyce, it was after the special session that she realized this couldn’t be a one-and-done experience for her.
“Advocacy has made me feel like I have some control, some power, over the future of my children,” Joyce said.
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Friendships forged, next steps planned
Fellow Covenant parent Sarah Shoop Neumann said she was warned about the tough fight she faced as she first got involved in pushing for gun reform in Tennessee.
Neumann, who had always voted for Republican and independent candidates, became close friends with Shaundelle Brooks through long days at the Capitol. Brooks, now a Democratic House candidate, began her fight for gun reform after her 23-year-old son, Akilah DaSilva, was killed in a mass shooting at a Nashville Waffle House in 2018.
Brooks pledged after her son’s death to fight for justice — a commitment to DaSilva that has fueled her advocacy.
“All the people that did this to (him) are going to be held accountable, and I'm going to make sure that this doesn't happen to another family," she said.
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Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, also befriended Neumann.
Neumann said her friendship with both Pearson and Brooks has opened her eyes to their longstanding efforts to combat gun violence in Tennessee and nationwide. And Black leaders helped her understand the risks of a law that would keep guns away from people deemed a risk to themselves or others, commonly known as “red flag” laws.
“That can be great if it's done well,” Neumann said. “It also can be done in a way that really puts brown and Black people at risk for having their houses searched unnecessarily.”
This summer, Neumann is considering joining the international Conference on Disarmament hosted in Geneva, Switzerland, by the United Nations. She is also working with her fellow leaders of grassroots organization Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows to determine their next steps. She said they're not yet sure if they'll dissolve the group or continue it.
Neumann plans to keep meeting with lawmakers and pushing for the same things as before, but with one key difference: She wants to make sure she’s listening first to the people who have gone before her, including Brooks.
As the Covenant shooting and the chaos that followed it drew international attention last year, Brooks welcomed the Covenant families and offered support as they joined the fight for gun reform. But her next steps look a little different.
After six fruitless years of advocating for change, she decided to run for the Tennessee House. Brooks has long advocated for background checks, gun storage laws and red flag laws, among other measures.
“Running for office is personal to me,” Brooks said. “I'm not running to take anyone's guns away from them. I just don't want what happened to me to happen to another family."
For Joyce and fellow Covenant mom Melissa Alexander, the next steps include a visit to the nation’s capital.
The pair this month will travel to D.C. meet with the Tennessee congressional delegation and with gun safety organizations to push for a federal assault weapons ban. They also plan to stay active in local elections beginning in August. They particularly hope to open conversations with other women who may have traditionally aligned with conservative values or voted for Republicans.
“We’re encouraging people to vote for the platform, not the candidate. Do these values align with you personally? Don’t just vote down party lines,” Joyce said. “That’s how we got into this situation with a supermajority.”
‘We’re not going anywhere’
Joyce acknowledges advocacy around similar goals and values may diverge, as advocacy “does not look the same for everybody.” Some groups have favored large, in-person protests, while others cheer incremental progress, like Voices for a Safer Tennessee, which has posted large fundraising hauls and touts connections with some prominent Tennessee conservatives.
In a recent op-ed, Voices board members said they were encouraged that the General Assembly didn't pass any new legislation rolling back gun safety laws and passed a new law that will block some juvenile offenders from accessing guns until they’re 25.
Mark Barden, who leads Sandy Hook Promise, is no stranger to the long, difficult fight to prevent things like school shootings. His son, Daniel, was among the 20 students killed in 2012 during a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut. Six adults were also killed that day. It didn’t take long for Barden to decide he needed to find a way to prevent more mass shootings.
“Nobody should have to endure this life of pain,” Barden said.
Sandy Hook Promise, first founded in 2013 by families of those killed in the shooting, focuses on teaching youth to recognize signs of trouble and stop acts of violence before they start. Barden said the group has helped prevent school shootings and suicide attempts through its program.
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While the approach of Sandy Hook Promise may be different than what Tennessee advocates will ultimately take, Barden still spoke to what it takes to stay healthy and engaged long-term. He said advocating for policy change at the state and federal level is just one part of the equation for him. Prevention training and tools to get people help are also valuable.
“It is a long process,” he said. “It's important to articulate what needs to be done and what doesn't have to be done.”
Even 12 years on, he still struggles with the tension between needing to focus on his family and his own well-being and continuing his work. He said there have been times when he’s stepped back to recenter.
Joyce said she’s in the thick of that struggle as well, working out how to balance her advocacy with parenthood and her career. But she has no plans of stopping anytime soon.
“We’re not going anywhere. We’re paying attention,” Joyce said. “We’re going to continue to bring more people to the table.”
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