Last year as lawmakers gathered at the capitol for a special session on guns, a group of 11 strangers came together to try and reach consensus on gun safety.
The group included a firearms instructor, a high school teacher, a veteran and second amendment absolutist, a young activist from Memphis and more. They were brought together by the nonpartisan organization, Starts With Us, to try and find agreement on one of the nation’s most polarizing topics.
The group’s process – and the common ground proposals they reached – are the focus of a documentary film called ‘The Tennessee 11‘ that premiered at the Nashville Film Festival on Saturday.
“I’m tired of the pro-gun community being absent in the discussion,” Adam Luke said after the screening.
Luke is a family therapist and gun owner who was one of the participants in the project. He said he got pushback from other gun owners for even sitting down with the group to come up with firearms safety policy proposals.
“It’s important for us to show up and say, as gun owners, this thing breaks our heart,” Luke said. “We don’t want these things to happen. What can we do?”
Together the Tennessee 11 came up with 8 proposals and posted them online. 30,000 Tennesseans weighed in, and 5 of the proposals got majority support – including one that would allow temporary removal of firearms based on the risk of violence.
It was an outcome that stood in stark contrast to the special session at the capitol, where lawmakers could not reach agreement on gun safety.
“We were there to work,” said participant Jaila Hampton. Hampton is a college student and activist from Memphis. “We were there to enact change or just push something so polarizing forward. And we didn’t have time to be stubborn … we didn’t have time to just sit there and be divided and polarized. We had to put those things aside to achieve a common goal.”
The Tennessee 11 brought their proposals to state lawmakers on January 9 – the first day of session. But, notably, prominent Republicans were absent from the press conference.
It was an eye-opening experience for Adam Luke.
“There’s this big disparity that’s happening where everyone comes around and wants my votes on a certain legislative cycle,” he said. “But then when I actually come to your place of employment, you are too busy.”
The Tennessee 11 said they plan to continue pushing for their policy proposals at the state level.
There will be a second screening of the Tennessee 11 film at the Franklin Theater on Tuesday September 24.
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