The deadly school shooting that killed three children and three adults in Nashville, Tennessee, has sparked renewed debate over gun laws and protests at the Tennessee State Capitol.
Hundreds gathered at Legislative Plaza and marched to the Capitol in Nashville to address the Republican-led legislature.
About 200 people managed to pass through security and rally in the rotunda outside the chambers for state representatives.
At the Capitol, protestors lined the hallways and chanted at the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature as they filed in to begin taking up bills for the first time since the shooting.
Chants of “Save our children!” echoed noisily in the hallways between the state Senate and House chambers, with protesters setting up shop inside and outside the Capitol.
Meanwhile, in the House, two Democratic lawmakers caused a temporary shutdown when they began yelling, “Power to the people” through a megaphone.
The protests followed a Wednesday night candlelight vigil in Nashville where Republican lawmakers stood alongside first lady Jill Biden, Democratic lawmakers and musicians including Sheryl Crow, who has called for stricter gun controls since the attack.
Republican U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty said that they would introduce a measure known as the SAFE School Act to help public and private schools train military veterans and former law enforcement officers for added security.
