There are 25 article(s) tagged Gun laws:

• March 2024

  • Gibbons: Tackle crime by fixing what’s broken

    The president of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission says we need to change the juvenile justice system’s arbitrary 19th birthday cutoff and use public safety as the overriding factor in bail decisions. 

    By Bill Gibbons March 08, 2024

• January 2024

  • Tennessee General Assembly 2024 session preview, part 2: criminal justice bills

    Other than Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal to expand private school vouchers, legislation intended to fight crime is likely to be the General Assembly’s biggest focus in its 2023 legislative session, which begins Tuesday.

    By Ian Round January 08, 2024

• December 2023

  • Deadly surge: Relaxed gun laws and the link to homicide rates

    While ascribing the gloomy climb to any one cause would be simplistic, one factor jumps out: relaxed gun laws.

    Related story:

    Deadly surge: Memphis surpasses past homicide record

    By Ben Wheeler, Ian Round December 15, 2023

  • Poll finds support for abortion access and gun reform in Tennessee

    More than three-quarters of Tennessee voters support at least some access to abortion, background-check requirements and restricting “high-risk” people’s access to guns.

    By Ian Round December 14, 2023

• August 2023

  • House Speaker ejects audience, silences Jones in special session; Democrats walk off in protest

    Sexton’s moves followed a subcommittee chairman’s move last week to clear the entire audience from a hearing room — including parents of survivors of the Covenant School shooting. 

    By Ian Round August 28, 2023

• June 2023

  • TBI: Local police, courts slow to submit criminal information for background checks

    The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says staffing, grants and tech upgrades would help it enter backlogged criminal information into the background-check system.

    By Ian Round June 19, 2023

  • Criminal Court backlog measures OK’d, two-year reappraisals stayed

    Here’s a roundup of some other items on Monday’s Shelby County Commission agenda, which was overshadowed by budget deliberations and votes on the wheel-tax hike.

    By Bill Dries June 06, 2023

• May 2023

  • ADAs told not to prosecute adults under 21 for having a gun without a permit

    “In Tennessee, those ages 18-20 can carry a handgun without a permit, and without fear of prosecution from the state attorney general’s office or citation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol,” reads an email to ADAs from Ernest Brooks II, associate deputy district attorney and senior policy adviser in the DA’s office. 

    By Julia Baker May 17, 2023

  • Moms Demand Action pushes for tighter gun laws at Collierville rally

    A group of around three dozen waved signs for more than an hour and a half near Poplar Avenue and Byhalia Road, urging people to contact their state lawmakers about stricter gun laws.

    By Abigail Warren May 14, 2023

  • Special legislative session on gun safety scheduled for August

    The announcement comes more than two weeks after lawmakers concluded their annual session without passing significant gun-safety legislation.

    By Ian Round May 08, 2023

• April 2023

  • Tennessee General Assembly ends legislative session

    The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned for the year on Friday, April 21, after a session defined by the short-lived expulsion of two young Black Democrats as well as a loud — and ultimately fruitless — effort at gun reform.

    By Ian Round April 22, 2023

• March 2023

  • Opinion: Arming teachers won’t make schools safer

    “In addition to being a teacher, all three of my own children attend public schools. Like everyone, I want to keep them safe. I want to keep my students safe. Putting more guns into schools is not the answer.”

    By Kathryn McRitchie March 20, 2023

  • Lawmakers delay vote on permitless gun carry for 18-year-olds amid heavy opposition

    Tennessee lawmakers on Wednesday, March 8, delayed a vote on a bill that would expand permitless gun carry to 18-year-olds and allow permit holders to carry any firearms, not just handguns. No law enforcement agencies support it.

    By Ian Round March 09, 2023

• June 2022

  • Sanford: There was always more to former Sen. Bill Frist than meets the eye

    Frist is trying to infuse compassion, reasonableness and a spirit of compromise into Republicans in Congress who, on the issue of gun safety, are seemingly heartless.

    By Otis Sanford June 02, 2022

• April 2022

  • Guest column: How guns became the leading cause of death among children

    “For most of my long life, car crashes, cancer, drowning and sudden infant death were the leading causes of death for kids – not guns.”

    By Linda McFadyen-Ketchum April 08, 2022

  • Permitless carry bills stall in General Assembly

    Two bills expanding permitless gun carry stalled Wednesday, April 6 in the General Assembly.

    By Ian Round April 08, 2022

• March 2022

  • Legislation would let 18-year-olds carry guns without permits

    Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said, “I think the legislature has adequately addressed the issue of gun rights,” and the House Civil Justice Subcommittee was told the bill proposed by Rep. Chris Todd of Jackson would risk reciprocity with 21 other states.

    By Ian Round March 06, 2022

• April 2021

  • Letter to the Editor: Gun violence is a public health emergency

    Addressing gun violence as a true epidemic means we create a public health framework around the safety of youth.

    By Letters to the Editor April 09, 2021

• March 2020

  • Montgomery: Are people of faith limited to thoughts and prayers?

    Do we just pray for our environment? Or pray for children being separated from their parents? Or might the faith communities be called to engage in … dare I suggest it … politics?

    By Steve Montgomery March 15, 2020

  • Behind the Headlines Podcast: Journalist round table

    Toby Sells with the Memphis Flyer, Karanja Ajanaku with the New Tri-State Defender and Laura Faith Kebede with Chalkbeat TN join host Eric Barnes and Bill Dries with The Daily Memphian to discuss the current legislative session and the budget shortfall for Shelby County and Memphis’ sales-tax increase.

    By Eric Barnes March 09, 2020

  • Permitless carry proposal stirs debate on both sides of issue

    Proponents and opponents of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's proposed permitless carry measure weigh in on the controversial issue. 

    By Yolanda Jones March 09, 2020

• February 2020

  • Gov. Lee expected to make handgun announcement Thursday

    Gov. Bill Lee is expected to make major announcement related to handguns Thursday.

    By Sam Stockard February 27, 2020

• June 2019

  • This is America, where thoughts and prayers replace gun laws

    Most of us believe the Second Amendment gives us the unfettered right to own practically any type of weapon – high powered or otherwise – along with unlimited ammunition and accessories to go with it. The Virginia Beach shooter had several extended magazines that allowed him to continuously fire at his victims and responding police officers.

    By Otis Sanford June 06, 2019

• April 2019

  • Bill to arm teachers withdrawn – for now

    Rep. Ryan Williams pulled his controversial bill from consideration by the House Education Committee on Wednesday, one week after the measure easily cleared a subcommittee over the objections of teachers and law enforcement leaders.

    By Marta W. Aldrich April 12, 2019

• November 2018

  • Take action for common-sense gun laws in Tennessee

    At 6:30 p.m. Saturday of the Thanksgiving holiday, I was standing in my kitchen and heard four pops from a gun near McLean and North Parkway. News coverage the next morning indicated shots were fired in traffic congestion as people were taking their children to see the annual display of holiday lights at the Memphis Zoo.

    By Katy Spurlock November 27, 2018