NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A new Tennessee law requires mass shooters to be tested for psychotropic and gender-altering drugs to uncover any potential connection between the two. Recently, the federal government announced it will launch its own study.

The Tennessee law, which passed in April, requires medical examiners to test dead mass shooters for psychotropic and gender-altering drugs. The University of Tennessee's Health Science Center will then study any potential interactions between those drugs and any other drugs found in their system.

“I think to study what is in the brain and body, the drugs, will give us a good start of what’s going on," said Rep. Mary Littleton (R-Dickson), the bill's House sponsor.

"It's a piece to the puzzle to try to figure out what's going on with these people," added Sen. Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City), the bill's Senate sponsor.

Some Tennessee Democrats argued the issue isn't about drugs, but guns.

“If you have people who are committing acts of mass murder, they obviously have some mental issues, and they will very likely be taking some drugs to treat that mental issue," said Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville). "That doesn’t mean that’s the cause. It’s correlational, and it’s a pretty big difference, and to try to look at one and attribute it to the other, again, takes our eye off the prize.” 

However, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. renewed his theory that SSRIs and other prescription drugs could be linked to mass shootings following the deadly attack at a Catholic school in Minneapolis last week.

RFK Jr. announced the federal government will launch a study, despite research posted on the National Institutes of Health's own website in 2019, which reads, "it appears that most school shooters were not previously treated with psychotropic medications — and even when they were, no direct or causal association was found."

Back in Tennessee, it may take a while for the state to gather enough data to determine whether there is a potential connection. Since 2015, there have been eight mass shootings where four or more people were killed in Tennessee.

The overall goal of the legislation is to prevent another tragedy in the Volunteer State.

“I hope you never get a report, but if we do, that’s the purpose and intent of this bill," said Rep. Littleton.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-politics/tennessee-to-study-possible-drug-links-to-mass-shootings-under-new-law/