Once again, a Tennessee child has died in an accidental shooting after finding a loaded gun in an attic. Phillip’e Woodard was 8 years old and full of promise. He was the third child in Nashville killed in an accidental shooting so far this year, and one of at least a dozen in our state. Tennessee has one of the highest rates in the U.S. of accidental firearm deaths among children, and the incidence has been rising.
Children are curious. They climb up to see what’s on the closet shelf and in the medicine cabinet. No matter how well parents think they have hidden Christmas or birthday presents, children will persist until they find them. And all too often, they find loaded, unsecured firearms, with tragic consequences.
Secure storage is one of the simplest and most effective ways we can reduce accidental deaths and suicides. And now it’s easier than ever to secure your firearms: The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security has made free gun locks available in every county, and the state does not charge sales tax on gun safes.
Organizations and local governments are stepping up to help. For instance, the Chapel Hill Police Department in Marshall County gives out free gun safety kits. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville and Children’s Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga are partnering with the Department of Safety to distribute free gun locks. The number of participating locations is growing.
We are heartbroken by the loss of another young life, but we are not helpless. We are more determined than ever to do what we can to make a difference through legislation, education, advocacy and voting. Please register to vote (or confirm that your registration is current) by Oct. 7 and research the candidates so you can cast an informed vote in the Nov. 5 election.
Thank you for being with us.
With gratitude,
Claudia Huskey
Executive Director
Voices for a Safer Tennessee
Back to School Bash
More than 400 adults and kids gathered last Sunday for an afternoon of fun and fundraising at the inaugural Safer TN Back to School Bash in Nashville. Headliner Ketch Secor, frontman for Old Crow Medicine Show, gave a musical performance and a reading of his children’s book, Lorraine: The Girl Who Sang the Storm Away.
Covering the State Virtually
If you live in one of the counties listed here, you might see video ads for Safer TN pop up on your social media feed. Our goal is simple: to bring awareness of the issues to more Tennesseans and grow our coalition in new areas. Take a look and let us know what you think!
| Franklin | Madison |
| Rutherford | Knox |
| Sumner | Montgomery |
| Blount | Hamilton |
| Shelby | Putnam |
Safer TN on the Road
Todd Cruse, Safer TN’s Board Chair, spoke to a full house at the Mt. Juliet Rotary this week, sharing the alarming facts about firearm tragedies in Tennessee and describing Safer TN’s policy priorities.
Tuesday, September 24 at 6 p.m.: The Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is holding a webinar on Youth Firearm Suicide Prevention Advocacy. Learn more and register here.
On Wednesday, October 2nd, Safer TN is convening a webinar on “Preventing Suicide in Tennessee: A Conversation on Mental Health and Firearm Safety.”
We’ll hear from leaders across the state representing mental health providers, veterans, the judicial system, and those personally impacted by suicide by firearm. Registration info coming soon!
Working towards a centralized court system
This past session, the TN General Assembly enacted legislation to require the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to create a centralized system for case management, electronic case filing, data reporting, electronic payment methods, and other capabilities, for all Tennessee Clerks of Court to integrate or use.
The Tennessee Judiciary is divided into 32 judicial districts spanning across 95 counties with 300 courts. Currently, each district and county has varying degrees of autonomy, and each district and county clerk can generally choose their own case management system. This gives judges, clerks and local governments more control over the management of their specific courts, but it can lead to inconsistent practices and data entry across the state. Inconsistencies with data entry and incompatible systems have been a contributing factor to the now half-million record backlog in our state background check system, TICS. Creating a centralized system is a vital step towards strengthening our state’s background check system so that records don’t fall through the cracks.
The AOC has begun this process, partnering with a contractor to design a plan for implementation, who is reviewing existing systems and then will begin soliciting feedback from stakeholders. The AOC is due to report to the legislature on progress on January 31, 2025.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Two out of three suicide deaths in Tennessee are attributable to suicide by firearm. And Tennessee has a firearm suicide rate that’s nearly 50% higher than the national average.
Child’s accidental shooting death marks third in Nashville for 2024 (WSMV) – A deadly shooting on North Second Street Saturday night added to a troubling statistic in the state of Tennessee. The Metro Nashville Police Department said 8-year-old Phillip’e Woodard was playing with a gun inside a family member’s East Nashville home when it accidentally went off.
Woodard’s death marks the third accidental shooting of a child in Nashville this year. “That’s an unacceptable statistic,” Claudia Huskey, Executive Director of Voices for a Safer Tennessee, said. …
The organization held an event Sunday at Fat Bottom Brewing, where they spoke with parents as school gets back into session. They reminded parents to check before bringing kids to other homes to ensure gun storage is being practiced if the homeowner is also a gun owner.
“First thing that gun owners can do is securely store their firearms,” Huskey said. “So, that means it’s in a locked compartment that only the gun owner can access.”
What if it happened here? How Tennessee’s laws on guns and minors compare with Georgia’s (Nashville Banner)
Tennessee child mortality rates rise 12%, firearm injuries a leading cause (Fox 17 Nashville)