Voices for a Safer Tennessee

Voices for a Safer Tennessee is a nonpartisan statewide coalition dedicated to prioritizing gun safety and advocating for common sense gun laws to make communities across Tennessee safer for all of us.

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Belmont Event Media Release | October 24, 2024

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2024

Media Contact:
Jessica Jaglois
Director of Communications
jessica@safertn.org
615-613-1624

Belmont University Hosts Critical Discussion on Firearm Safety Policies and Second Amendment Rights with Safer TN

Nashville, TN –  More than 70 students, community members, activists, and lawmakers attended Belmont University’s panel on Wednesday night, which focused on the intersection of firearm safety policies, Second Amendment rights, and community safety.

Todd Cruse, Board Chair of Safer TN, and John Harris, Executive Director of the Tennessee Firearms Association, were invited to engage in a discussion moderated by Professor Vaughn May, Chair of the Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Department at Belmont.

“A large part of our society is now part of a lockdown generation,” Safer TN’s Board Chair Todd Cruse said during the panel. “Now, as a parent of two, you have that tiny voice in the back of your head saying ‘I hope this doesn’t happen in our school today [even] as hard as they’re trying to make sure it doesn’t.’”

The conversation represents an important step toward finding balanced solutions in a state with strong interests in both security and individual freedoms.

“[John Harris and I] disagree on what the Supreme Court says and what its interpretations [of the law] mean,” Cruse said. “And that’s okay because we can have that conversation.”

Safer TN is also available to provide interviews or additional recorded materials ahead of the Lewiston, Maine mass shooting anniversary (October 25, 2023) and Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October). Highlights include:

  • Cruse graded Tennessee’s firearm policies as an “incomplete” and pointed to other states that have taken proactive measures after mass shootings. Maine expanded background checks to cover all advertised firearm sales following the Lewiston mass shooting, creating a near-universal background check system.
  • Cruse highlighted that nearly 40% of domestic violence firearm homicides in Davidson County since 2007 were committed by individuals prohibited from owning firearms.

Soundbites can be found here. 

About Voices for a Safer Tennessee
Voices for a Safer Tennessee (Safer TN) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition dedicated to prioritizing pragmatic 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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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2024

Media Contact:
Jessica Jaglois, (615) 613-1624


Voices for a Safer Tennessee Hosted Statewide Suicide Prevention Discussion
Panel Addressed Mental Health and Firearm Safety Solutions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – To mark the conclusion of National Suicide Prevention Month, a diverse panel of Tennesseans shared their deeply personal stories and expert insights to confront the alarming reality of Tennessee’s rising suicide rate. The webinar was hosted by Voices for a Safer Tennessee—a nonpartisan organization dedicated to creating safer, healthier communities by reducing preventable firearm-related tragedies—to highlight the urgent need for action and community-driven solutions to address this crisis.

The panelists included:

  • Eric Barnes (Moderator), Publisher and CEO of The Daily Memphian
  • Penny Anderson, Chief Development and External Affairs Officer for Operation Stand Down Tennessee
  • Annette Lake, Survivor and Suicide Prevention Advocate
  • Judge Eddie Lauderback, Circuit Court, First Judicial District of the State of Tennessee
  • Lucy White, Counselor, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, College of Medicine in Chattanooga

Tennesseans are 20% more likely to die by suicide than their peers nationwide, and are nearly 50% more likely to die by suicide using a firearm. The panelists agreed that access to mental health services, temporary transfer laws, expanding background checks and secure firearm storage would reduce these tragic suicide rates.

“Two out of three suicides are committed by a firearm in Tennessee,” said Erin Rogus, Voices for a Safer Tennessee policy director. “We all know suicide is a tragic, complicated issue, but it’s often preventable, and that gives us hope.”

Annette Lake, a suicide prevention advocate from Middle Tennessee who lost her father and her son to suicide within a year of one another, said destigmatizing mental health issues continues to be a crucial step in communities across Tennessee. “The more we talk about it, the more work we do to help each other to identify solutions and start screenings early, the better off we will be,” said Lake.

Washington County Circuit Court Judge Eddie Lauderback has lost two friends to suicide. Now, he advocates for secure firearm storage and encourages parents to talk about how firearms are stored in the homes of family and friends. He also recommended a process to give judges the authority to temporarily remove firearms from those who pose a risk to themselves or others.

Penny Anderson of Operation Stand Down Tennessee, which connects veterans and their families with comprehensive services, said veterans in the state are more likely to own and to use a firearm to take their own lives. In fact, 87% of Tennessee veterans who die by suicide do so by using a firearm. Anderson emphasized early intervention “to get ahead of the darkest day of someone’s life.” She recommended a buddy program they use with veterans, with regular texts and calls to check in on a friend or loved one going through a hard time, as well as posting photos of kids, loved ones, pets, whatever “ties you to this world,” where firearms are stored as a suicide deterrent.

The key takeaways from the discussion included:

  • The need for awareness of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Prevention Lifeline and other mental health resources in Tennessee.
  • The vital importance of securely storing firearms in a locked compartment or with a cable or trigger lock to prevent access for those in a mental health crisis. Delaying access by as little as 10 minutes can be the difference in saving a life.
  • Exploring the feasibility of temporary transfer laws or other legal mechanisms to temporarily remove firearms from individuals in crisis.
  • Expanding background check requirements for firearm purchases to prevent purchase by those who have been involuntarily committed and are at risk of harming themselves.
  • Encouraging open conversations within families and communities about mental health, firearm safety and suicide prevention.

Chattanooga counselor Lucy White has worked with clients and their families struggling with mental illness and seen them recover. “I’m here to be able to communicate the hope that could be on the other side of the worst day of your life, and I’ve been able to see people get better,” said White.

To view a recording of the webinar, click here.

Watch the webinar

Learn more about the work of Voices for a Safer Tennessee and how you can get involved at safertn.org.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, know that help is available. Call or text 988, then press 0, for 24/7 free and confidential support. Visit preventsuicidetn.com to learn about resources available in your area.

About Voices for a Safer Tennessee
Voices for a Safer Tennessee (Safer TN) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition dedicated to prioritizing pragmatic 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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Nashville Banner: A Year After Covenant, Some See Optimism in Incrementalism.

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“COLUMN: Math says gun safety reforms won’t happen without the GOP; two Republicans offer a window into why change might occur.

It was one of those phone calls where someone starts yelling before you even have a chance to say hello.

…The caller was a mom who had never been particularly political before the events of March 27, 2023, when a shooter killed six at the Covenant School. And her frustration was a familiar one. The legislature’s unwillingness to enact meaningful gun safety legislation, either in last year’s special session or the current regular session, has certainly not gone unnoticed. If you talked to participants in the human chain that connected Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to the Capitol on the massacre’s anniversary, you’d find gun control activists, to be sure. But you’d also find regular people, of all political stripes, frustrated and angry at the state’s leaders on the issue.”

Continue reading at Nashville Banner

News Channel 9: Chattanooga healthcare providers share their perspective on gun control, child safety

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“CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A Tennessee non-profit held an event on gun safety in Chattanooga Thursday evening, inviting healthcare providers to share their perspective on the topic.

This as one policy director asks lawmakers to adopt gun legislation that she argues will save lives, especially those of children.

The non-profit who held the event, Voices for a Safer Tennessee, says they want to create a safer environment for children, something they made clear Thursday night.”

Continue reading at News Channel 9.

The Atlantic: The Politics of Gun Safety Are Changing. I Should Know.

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By William H. Frist | April 3, 2024

“I encourage people who, like me, are impatient for change to look around, because something is happening.

A mass shooting. Children dead. Families and communities grieving. Then the cycle repeats. I get asked over and over again: Why do mass shootings not motivate lawmakers to act? Why does nothing happen?

I understand the frustration. I’m a gun owner and a strong Second Amendment supporter. I’m also a physician and a grandfather. We have reached a public-health crisis where firearms are now the No. 1 killer of kids in America. Shockingly, the rate of firearm fatalities among children under 18 increased 87 percent from 2011 to 2021. Had the problem been this large during my time in the U.S. Senate, where I represented Tennessee for 12 years and served as majority leader for four, it would have unquestionably influenced my vote on key firearm-related legislation. I want to see proven firearm-safety policies enacted that protect our children—which we can achieve while preserving our Second Amendment rights.”

Continue reading at The Atlantic.

William H. Frist is a heart- and lung-transplant surgeon and a former United States Senate majority leader who represented Tennessee from 1995 to 2007. He serves as the chair of the global board of the Nature Conservancy.