Listen

00:00

Democrats and Republicans in the Tennessee House faced off over a slew of gun bills heard this week.

The day got off to a tense start in the criminal justice subcommittee when Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, introduced a bill to repeal permitless carry. He began by thanking law makers for the conversation and discussion, saying “that’s what democracy requires.”

The proposal was personal for Pearson, who just returned to session after spending time in Memphis with his family. His brother recently shot and killed himself.

“Since the bill has been passed against the will of our chiefs of police, against the will of our sheriff’s, we have seen a sad increase in homicides and in suicides,” Pearson told lawmakers of permitless carry. An analysis by news outlet The Trace found that gun deaths surged in states where permitless carry was made law.

But Pearson’s proposal was quickly overshadowed by needling from Rep. Andrew Farmer, R – Sevierville.

“I know every member in this committee’s been here this year working. During committee, during session, voting on bills, and I know you may have some things going on, but you have not.” Farmer said, referencing Pearson’s absence to take care of his family. “So I don’t think it’s fair for you to come in front of this committee and lecture us on hard work and convictions and hard work for our committee.”

A murmur went through the gallery in response to Farmer’s reply.

“Thank you, Chair Farmer for your comments,” Pearson replied. “They incense me. Not just because of the lack of regard. But the disrespect and the same denigrating tone that you use on the statehouse floor when the vote to expel me happened. It is a pathetic excuse for you to not answer the question of why we are doing nothing about the gun violence epidemic, but let me explain to you what I have been doing, Representative, since you asked. My brother Timphrance Darnell Pearson, one of the loves of my life, passed away from gun suicide on December 1st of 2024. And since that happened, it shattered my family like gun violence has shattered so many families.”

The heated interaction is representative of broader frustrations from Democrats who have been pushing for gun reforms for years, only to be stymied by the Republican supermajority. Pearson was expelled from the statehouse for protesting the body’s lack of action on guns after the Covenant School shooting.

More: How Tennessee became one of the most gun-friendly states before the Covenant School shooting

Pearson’s bill did not pass out of committee.

Other bills that aim to loosen gun restrictions in the state did get the committee’s stamp of approval. One proposal by Rep. Rusty Grills, R – Newbern, would expand permitted handgun carry to include any type of firearm, including long guns.

“The second amendment was given to us by our founding so our government wouldn’t infringe on those rights,” Grills said. “So I’m here to protect the rights that our founding fathers gave us.”

The bill was opposed by law enforcement officials and the department of safety, but still passed out of subcommittee.

Notably, one Democrat’s gun proposal did move on to the next step. Rep. Shaundelle Brooks, D – Hermitage, introduced a bill named after her son, Akilah Dasilva, who was killed in the Waffle House shooting in 2018.

“My son Akilah would still be here with us today if the parents of the perpetrator had followed the instructions of law enforcement and medical professionals who deemed their son unfit to possess a firearm,” Brooks told the subcommittee.

The bill would punish people who sell or give guns to someone who they know has been in a mental institution within the last 5 years. Illinois had a similar law in 2018, which allowed the shooter’s father to be charged for allowing his son to have access to guns.

If that gun transfer had happened in Tennessee, she said there would have been no way to hold him responsible.

“This bill is about upholding the law, and holding those who break the law accountable,” Brooks said. “I would ask for a favorable vote in honor of Akilah.”

In a rare move, some Republicans on the subcommittee, including Andrew Farmer and William Lamberth, R – Portland, gave her that favorable vote.

This is just one step for these proposals. The Senate is slated to hear gun bills next week.