Jon Blankenship

Today, both the House and Senate adjourned “sine die,” marking the end of an emotional special session on public safety

Dear Safer TN Coalition,

Today, both the House and Senate adjourned “sine die,” marking the end of an emotional special session on public safety. What started with 100+ bills filed, concluded with a near stalemate between the House and the Senate. Small steps were made toward firearm safety with three bills passed by both chambers, all of which Voices for a Safer Tennessee supported. (See bill recap below.)

It is understandable that this chaotic and abrupt end to the special session has left many Tennesseans feeling frustrated. Your frustration is warranted, and we share in it. Much more needs to be done to make communities across our state safer, and we are channeling our frustration into continuing the work.

While the special session did not substantively address firearm violence in our state, there were small steps taken toward our core policy priorities: temporary transfer laws, stronger firearm storage laws and consistent background check requirements. These small steps have opened the door for important discussions that will continue into the 2024 legislative session and beyond.

We reflect on the last several months with great appreciation for all the ways Voices for a Safer Tennessee coalition members have shown up and engaged in the legislative process. THANK YOU! From thoughtfully contacting your legislators asking for action to respectfully sitting in committee meetings and hearings, our nonpartisan approach has built strong momentum. Together, we’ve grown our membership to more than 20,000 Tennesseans from all 95 counties, and raised more than $300,000 from over 700 donors in the last week alone. Our approach is resonating, and it will take us forward from a position of strength.

So what’s next? As we gear up for the 2024 legislative session, we must continue to keep the need for firearm safety legislation top of mind for our policymakers, as well as with our friends, family and neighbors. So we will continue the conversations, doing the research, and be ready to educate and take action when session is back in January. Additionally, our board of directors will be hard at work finalizing a long-term strategic plan that will guide the organization’s continued work and advocacy into the future. We will share more about our planning and how you can continue to be involved along the way.

Thank you for joining the chorus of voices committed to creating a safer Tennessee. It will take all of us to make the bipartisan change that the majority of Tennesseans want and expect a reality. 

Sincerely,

Todd Cruse 
Voices for a Safer Tennessee
Board Chair and Treasurer

Bill Recap

The following bills that Safer TN supported passed both the House and the Senate and will be presented to Governor Bill Lee to sign into law. 

HB7012/SB7085 – provides free firearm locks to TN residents upon request, establishes a PSA campaign for secure storage, incorporates secure storage into firearm safety courses, and makes gun safes tax free.

HB7013/SB7086 – shortens the timeframe in which the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation must be notified of an individual’s final disposition by a court from 30 days to 72 hours.

SB 7089/ HB 7070 – an appropriations bill that will provide the following noteworthy investments:

• $1.1 million in funding for a gun safety advertisement campaign (funds the PSA campaign established through HB7012/SB7085)
• $12 million for mental health professional bonuses
• $4 million to increase behaviorial health safety net grants
• $50 million non-recurring to mental health agencies that contract with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
• $30 million non-recurring for safety upgrades for institutions of higher education

Tennessee’s legislators may have adjourned the special session, but the work for firearm safety legislation has only just begun.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 29, 2023) — Voices for a Safer Tennessee (Safer TN), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to prioritizing firearm safety and promoting responsible firearm ownership through bipartisan legislation, issued the following statement regarding the adjournment of the special session on public safety: 

Tennessee’s legislators may have gone home today, but we will continue to advocate for firearm safety legislation in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.

Small steps were made toward firearm safety with the three bills that passed in both chambers – all of which Voices for a Safer Tennessee supported. While we acknowledge these small steps forward, they only begin to scratch the surface of what is needed to meaningfully strengthen firearm safety in Tennessee. Much more needs to be done to make communities across our state safer.

Safer TN fundamentally believes that there is common ground, in all 95 counties, around temporary transfer laws, stronger firearms storage, and consistent background checks. Looking forward to the 2024 legislative session, we call on our legislators to hear their constituents’ support for these solutions and to act on them. Our more than 20,000 members will join with the voices of so many others to do the same. 

Since our founding in the days following the Covenant School shooting, Safer TN has believed that we will make change through discussion, common ground and shared solutions. So we will continue the conversations, doing the research, educating and engaging one another until substantive progress is made in protecting our communities from firearm violence.

About Voices for a Safer Tennessee
Voices for a Safer Tennessee (Safer TN) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition dedicated to prioritizing common-sense firearm safety laws and promoting responsible firearm ownership to make communities across our state safer. Safer TN was founded by neighbors, friends, colleagues and community members who came together with a shared desire for change following the tragic events of March 27, 2023, at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. The organization brings voters and lawmakers together by leading conversations, sharing diverse perspectives and finding commonality to champion the bipartisan change that the majority of Tennessee voters support. Learn more at safertn.org.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 8, 2023) — Voices for a Safer Tennessee (Safer TN), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to prioritizing firearm safety and promoting responsible firearm ownership through bipartisan legislation, released the following statement regarding Governor Bill Lee’s official call for a special session on public safety:

We commend Governor Bill Lee for issuing the official call for a special session to begin on Aug. 21, 2023, at 4 p.m. While Tennesseans have voiced support for a broader scope of solutions to be considered during the special session, opening doors to discuss orders of protection, beginning to address background check challenges, and educating the public on the value of secure storage, are first steps in the right direction and mark the beginning of a process that will carry into the 2024 Tennessee General Assembly and beyond. 

The challenges associated with firearm safety are complex and have worsened over many years. We know that it will take time to fully address and correct the dangerous trajectory we are on. We encourage the General Assembly to move forward during the special session with an open mind, acting in the interests of the thousands of Tennessee voters across the state who have made it abundantly clear that we want and expect change.

Fueled by nonpartisan support in nearly all 95 counties, our momentum is strong, and we will remain committed – this session and in sessions that follow – to advocating for:  

• Temporary transfer laws that would allow authorities to temporarily restrict access to firearms from people who pose a risk to themselves or others
• Stronger firearm storage laws that require firearm owners to provide secure storage and report lost or stolen weapons
• Consistent background check requirements across more firearm transactions to help keep firearms away from dangerous people who are not legally allowed to own them

Tennesseans’ voices are important now more than ever. We will continue to actively engage in discussions with policymakers across the state, as well as with our friends, family and neighbors. Together, with time and dedication, we will find common ground on meaningful policies that will make our communities safer. 

We look forward to working with policymakers now and in the future to create a safer Tennessee.

About Voices for a Safer Tennessee

Voices for a Safer Tennessee (Safer TN) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition dedicated to prioritizing common-sense firearm safety laws and promoting responsible firearm ownership to make communities across our state safer. Safer TN was founded by neighbors, friends, colleagues and community members who came together with a shared desire for change following the tragic events of March 27, 2023, at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. The organization brings voters and lawmakers together by leading conversations, sharing diverse perspectives and finding commonality to champion the bipartisan change that the majority of Tennessee voters support. Learn more at safertn.org.

Thursday, May 18, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Voices for a Safer Tennessee (Safer TN), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to prioritizing firearm safety and promoting responsible firearm ownership through bipartisan legislation, today announced that it has formally registered as a nonprofit organization under the 501(c)(4) designation of the Internal Revenue Service. Safer TN also has announced its founding board of directors and board officers, who represent a broad range of professional and political backgrounds in reflection of the organization’s objectives:

• Todd Cruse, chairman and treasurer;
• Nicole Smith, president;
• Whitney Kimerling, secretary;
• Clay Richards; and
• Jill Talbert.

“It is an honor to serve as chairman of the board for Voices for a Safer Tennessee and to have an opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the organization’s efforts to advance common-sense firearm safety legislation,” said Todd Cruse. “As a parent, gun-owner and Tennessee voter, I firmly believe that the concepts of firearm ownership and firearm safety are not mutually exclusive, and that there is a clear, bipartisan path forward to protecting our children and communities more effectively than we are doing today.”

Today’s announcement comes approximately six weeks after the volunteer-run group of parents, neighbors, friends and community members came together, and one month after Safer TN’s “Linking Arms for Change” event that garnered national and statewide media attention by bringing nearly 10,000 Tennesseans in Nashville and Knoxville together, ultimately forming a three-mile human chain in support of common-sense firearm safety legislation. Since then, Safer TN has built unprecedented momentum and support by bridging people of diverse interests, religions, political perspectives and geographies to engage in advocacy including: 

• Publishing Letters of Support, championed by key Tennessee leaders, including education leaders, healthcare executives and faith leaders respectively;
• Releasing statewide, bipartisan poll results showing strong support for common-sense firearm policies from Tennessee voters with key demographics, including Republicans and households with guns;
• Meeting with United States Senators and other leaders in Washington D.C., to ask for support and have productive conversations about firearm safety;
• Coordinating nearly 100 meetings with state legislators and elected officials in less than six weeks;
• Sustaining a daily visible contingency of supporters on site at the Tennessee State Capitol and Cordell Hull buildings during the regularly scheduled state legislative session;
• Organizing a group of notable artists, including Amy Grant, Sheryl Crow, Ruby Amanfu, Will Hoge, Allison Russell and Margo Price to meet with state lawmakers about addressing firearm safety measures;
• Bringing together more than 65 notable musicians and artists, including Sheryl Crow, Kacey Musgraves, Amy Grant, Emmylou Harris, Martina McBride, Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Jason Isbell and more, to support a letter addressed to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and members of the Tennessee General Assembly, asking them to put politics aside and the safety of our children above all else; 
• Collecting more than 3,000 petition signatures in support of stronger firearm safety and ownership laws;
• Inspiring news coverage in more than 500 media stories across the state and the world – from local community newspapers to international television broadcasts reflecting a nonpartisan, common-ground approach to firearm safety solutions;
• Sharing timely and actionable information with supporters following Governor Bill Lee’s introduction of an order of protection bill and subsequent call for a special session of the legislature to address public safety.

“It is extraordinary what our group of volunteers has been able to accomplish in a short amount of time, and how many like-minded Tennesseans have willingly mobilized to support this cause,” Cruse continued. “By formalizing as a 501(c)(4) and creating the mechanism to raise funds, we are now in a stronger position to continue advancing the short- and long-term goals of Safer TN, including our efforts ahead of the special session that begins August 21.”

Leading up to the special session, Safer TN is continuing to advocate for:

• extreme risk laws with proven language that would allow authorities to temporarily restrict access to firearms from people who pose a risk to themselves or others, 
• stronger firearm storage laws that would require firearm owners to provide safe storage and report lost or stolen firearms, and 
• closing background check loopholes to keep firearms away from dangerous people. 

Safer TN encourages all Tennesseans who believe that we can find common ground to achieve these policies and protect our communities to get involved by donating, signing the petition, and following Safer TN on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for regular updates and calls to action. 

About Voices for a Safer Tennessee

Voices for a Safer Tennessee (Safer TN) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition dedicated to prioritizing common-sense firearm safety laws and promoting responsible firearm ownership to make communities across our state safer. Safer TN was founded by neighbors, friends, colleagues and community members who came together with a shared desire for change following the tragic events of March 27, 2023, at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. The organization brings voters and lawmakers together by leading conversations, sharing diverse perspectives and finding commonality to champion the bipartisan change that the majority of Tennessee voters support. Learn more at safertn.org.

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Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Nashville, Tenn. — Following Gov. Bill Lee’s announcement of a Special Session of the Tennessee General Assembly to Discuss Firearm Safety Solutions, Voices for a Safer Tennessee released the following statement:

“We applaud Governor Bill Lee’s call for a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly on Aug. 21 to discuss solutions for keeping Tennessee communities safe. Polling continues to highlight the substantial common ground among Tennesseans of all political viewpoints for meaningful firearm safety solutions, and this special session will make more room for our elected officials to respond to the voices of their constituents. We will be using the coming months to activate more voices across the state and engage in productive dialogue with our legislators about bipartisan legislation that will help make Tennessee safer.”

About Voices for a Safer Tennessee

We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition dedicated to prioritizing common-sense gun safety laws and promoting responsible gun ownership to make communities across our state safer. We came together as neighbors, friends, colleagues, and community members following the tragic events of March 27, 2023, at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. to launch a nonpartisan, statewide coalition to build a safer future for Tennesseans. Together, we are leading conversations, sharing diverse perspectives, and finding commonality to champion change that is agreed upon by people across the aisle. Learn more at safertn.org.

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