Former chief of Brentwood Police Jeff Hughes, who is running for Williamson County Sheriff, addressed controversy surrounding his stance in 2022 against a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly allowing for the permitless carry of firearms.
Hughes said his stance against the bill was coming from a matter of “public safety and officer safety,” specifically regarding the bill’s lack of training requirement for gun owners.
“I actually support Second Amendment rights. I support permitless carry, but as with any bill, what looks good on the front end, when you start tagging all of these things on the back end, can turn out to be a bill that you just can’t support,” Hughes explained on Monday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “This bill would allow someone to go out and purchase a weapon, put it on their side, and carry it without any familiarity, without any training attached to it whatsoever. That’s a public safety issue in my opinion.”
“I’m speaking from the perspective of a police chief as it relates to public safety,” Hughes (pictured above) added. “I was in a position where I had to make a decision. My opponents have neither been in a position to where they had to make a decision on that particular bill at the time.”
Hughes also addressed during Monday’s show how the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, under his leadership if he were to be elected, would work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in carrying out deportations of illegal immigrants under a potential Trump presidency beginning in 2025.
Former President Donald Trump has previously said he would immediately mobilize ICE to deport illegal immigrants as part of his goal to carry out the “largest deportation operation” in the nation’s history.
Hughes, noting how illegal immigration is a “huge problem” for Americans, said he supports the effort to deport illegal immigrants and would work “collaboratively with ICE” to execute such an order.
The sheriff candidate also addressed changes he’d make if elected to the position during Monday’s show, specifically changes he’d make to tackle violent crime and drugs.
Hughes said one way to deter such crime in Williamson County would be through “high visibility.”
“High visibility would be one example…Making it appear that you have officers everywhere and just making yourself as visible as possible and using data to put you in those areas where you have the crime and the things that need to be addressed,” Hughes said.
Hughes also addressed school safety, saying he would ensure a school resource officer is stationed in every school across the county.
“Williamson County needs a proven tested leader and the biggest element of that is experience. I would say my experience of 10 years as chief of police at Brentwood has prepared me well, and I’m ready and willing and able to serve the citizens of Williamson County and would be honored to be their sheriff,” Hughes said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
