Voices for a Safer Tennessee, one of the many gun-reform advocacy groups formed after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, is holding a panel discussion in Memphis on Jan. 23.

The panel, which Daily Memphian CEO Eric Barnes will moderate, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Church of the Holy Communion, at 4656 Walnut Grove Rd.

The panelists are former Greater Memphis Chamber CEO Beverly Robertson, Memphis Shelby Crime Commission President Bill Gibbons and Voices Policy Director Erin Rogus.

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The panel comes two weeks after the start of the General Assembly’s 2024 legislative session, during which gun bills will be a major focus after an August special session at which they were not allowed to be considered.

Voices for a Safer Tennessee has held several panel discussions across the state, with some drawing more than 100 attendees, as well as smaller events.

“Tennesseans have to get square on what’s going on and band together for some meaningful but responsible changes,” said Todd Cruse, the organization’s chairman.

In addition to community engagement, Rogus and Cruse said their goal is to educate lawmakers about the danger of easy gun access and the effectiveness and popularity of three reform policies.

Those policies are universal background checks, extreme-risk protection orders and safe-storage requirements.

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“Across the state, regardless of whether it’s rural or urban, there is broad support for the policies we’re advocating for,” said Rogus, who has spent her career in Republican politics, including working as an adviser to former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee. “They all have evidence behind them.”

A Vanderbilt University poll published in December found at least three out of four voters supported the policies Voices is advocating for; more than 80% were “somewhat or very supportive” of requiring background checks for purchases at gun shows.

A poll commissioned by The Daily Memphian, published in June 2023, found wide support for moderate gun reform in Shelby County, although it did not ask about specific policies.

In Memphis, 86.3% of survey respondents agreed that “we need common-sense gun reforms like longer waiting periods and making it harder to buy assault weapons” or “we need new laws to dramatically reduce access to firearms.” For county residents outside the city, that number was 73.9%.

Cruse, who worked as a legislative liaison for Republican Gov. Donald Sundquist in the late ‘90s, said he tries to employ a “thoughtful and pragmatic approach” in his meetings with lawmakers.

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“Our way is to try to be a steady hand on the tiller, non-confrontational, very much grounded in respect for everybody’s opinion,” he said.

If presented with information about, for example, the rate of suicides by firearm in rural areas, Cruse said, “they might moderate their stance over time.”

Cruse said people often feel more safe and open to dialogue when panel discussions are held at churches.

More than 25,000 people have registered online as members of Voices for a Safer Tennessee, including 882 in Memphis and 1,185 in Shelby County.