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.
