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.
Well if the fathers would stay at home and carry the kids to Church on Sunday, teaching the young lads how real men should act, with the guidance of morals and justice, then we would not need such programs.
Just thought about it more. Will the program result in charges if a ‘sold back’ gun is found to be stolen, will the seller be prosecuted for having a stolen gun? Considering it is a Democrat law, I would bet this won’t happen as Democrats just love criminals.
I read this wrong. I thought I’d be able to trade my Titans tickets for a new gun, not the other way around. C’mon, man, it’s worth considering.
hasnt it been shown these programs do little to nothing?
more waste and bad ideas from democrats
What Randy said: “The last thing anyone in this country needs is any Public Health organization in charge of any policy relating to anything. The depth of stupidity is bottomless.”
under the rubric of Public Health – the fork and spoon will be forced to jump over the moon, or be turned in for food coupons…… Diabetes kills more than firearms used in defense of criminal activity. Public Health ie Criminal Activity using a firearm, is being used to open the way to grabbing guns…, and how do they stop the reward of the criminals with cash when they turn in the firearm used in the criminal activity. Stunning and brave or just plain stupi*?
Democrats refuse to acknowledge the root causes of violence being the demise of the nuclear family unit and the lack of concrete enforcement of existing gun laws. All Democrats want to do is to persecute legal gun owners by taking away their rights to own a firearm. Do these stupid lawmakers not understand that, when guns are gone, other weapons will be used to kill or maim victims. I think Democrats fully understand but don’t care!
Perhaps the Department of Health can issue similar reports and assessments about gang violence.
All kidding aside, gun buy-back programs create excellent buying opportunities for those of us who stuff our pockets with $100’s and $50’s and go shopping for deals.
I’m happy to pay a little more than the paltry amount the state pays for a gun.
What part of the Constitution is more offensive to these people, Liberty or Freedom? This legislation encourages criminals to steal guns from law abiding citizens and trade them for tax payer cash or other (cue the dog whistle) “free stuff”. Talk about furthering failed public policy. Perhaps if these “local community groups” spent half their energy on ending government handouts there might be more resources available to actually change their culture. Enacting legislation that requires more taxpayer money be spent supporting these benevolent community groups has not worked thus far, what will change? The last thing anyone in this country needs is any Public Health organization in charge of any policy relating to anything. The depth of stupidity is bottomless.
LOL. This is Tennessee, Lady.
How does the Government “buy back” something that was never theirs to begin with? The only person who can buy something “back” is the original seller of the property. It’s like the Gov’t saying they are going to buy back your car. Besides, what fool is going to turn in a weapon they paid hundreds for to get a fraction of their money in return? Worse, instead of cash they’ll cook up something lame like a Kroger or Target gift card.