Democrat-sponsored legislation which contains the creation of a firearm buyback program and refers to gun violence as a public health issue is scheduled for Tennessee General Assembly Committee consideration over the coming days.
The legislation requires the Tennessee Department of Safety to develop a firearm buyback program “in collaboration with local community groups.”
It provides that “compensation for firearms that are voluntarily surrendered may be paid in cash or other items of value such as grocery vouchers, tickets to professional sporting events, and phone cards, as determined by the local community groups. Any firearm that is voluntarily surrendered through the buyback program shall be destroyed.”
SB1773 and its companion bill HB1830 are scheduled for consideration on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 23 by the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, respectively.
SB1773 is sponsored by State Senator Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville). HB1830 is sponsored by State Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis). Action on SB1773 in the Senate Judiciary Committee has been deferred four times. Action on HB1830 in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee has been deferred five times.
The legislation also seeks to require the Tennessee Department of Health to submit an annual report on the public health impacts of gun violence.
“The report must include data on the deaths, disabilities, mental illnesses, and economic hardships stemming from gun violence. Additionally, the report must provide the public and policymakers with research-based information from which to make informed decisions on how best to protect Tennesseans from gun violence,” the legislation says.
It also encourages the Department of Health to create a “new hospital based violence intervention program to be implemented in hotspot communities within each municipality or county, which includes participation by local constituent groups.”
The Tennessee Firearms Association has issued an action alert opposing this legislation.
“This is a dangerous bill which seeks to use the public health system to support advances in gun control. Firearms ownership is not a ‘public health’ issue and efforts to push it in that direction are almost always rooted in a gun control agenda,” the association said. “If there was a valid reason to seek a state study on the true causes of crime and criminal activity including demographics, socio-economic factors, etc., then there would be no reason for all the ‘gun violence’ or ‘gun control’ focus on this bill. TFA will score this bill negatively for 2022 purposes.”
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Photo “Brenda Gilmore” by Brenda Gilmore. Background Photo “Gun Store” by Marcin Wichary. CC BY 2.0.
