The first bills are filed for Tennessee’s special session on public safety. Here’s what lawmakers want to do.

Tennessee’s legislative special session on public safety begins Aug. 21 and lawmakers have started to file proposals.

Safe storage

The first bill filed isn’t a new idea. It would require the Tennessee Department of Safety to revise the curriculum for obtaining a carry permit, to include education on the safe storage of firearms.

The sponsor is Dwayne Thompson, D-Memphis, who says his legislation targets the growing problem of guns stolen from vehicles.

“Hopefully reduce some of the theft problems that we have. And also keep firearms out of the hands of criminals,” said Thompson.

It’s a statewide problem. Numbers from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation show more than 5,000 guns were stolen from cars in 2022. Nashville accounted for 1,300, but there were almost twice as many in Memphis, which had 2,400.

Mental health notifications

The other bills were filed by House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland. One requires mental health facilities to notify the local sheriff when a person they committed for treatment is released back into the community.

Theeda Murphy, an organizer with Nashville Community Crisis Response, says the bill criminalizes mental illness.

“The medical team, the people who are treating them, have determined that the crisis is stabilized. There is no more threat. So why is the police continuing to surveil them?” she asked.

Orders of protection

Another bill aims to rectify a previous law related to lifetime orders of protection, by adding aggravated stalking as one type of charge that’s eligible for such a long-term protective order.

“Victims of violent crime and survivors of violent crime, in that circumstance, have to go down every single year if they want an order of protection and get it renewed once a year,” Lamberth said. “Which means they have to face that person once a year.”

Last legislative session, Gov. Bill Lee proposed an emergency risk protection order that would restrict people who pose a threat to themselves or others from having access to guns. Republicans in the General Assembly showed heavy opposition to it, and the proposal was never filed. Now, after calling a special session focused on public safety, Lee isn’t bringing it back up.

Knoxville Republican Jason Zachary says that’s because it has no chance of passing. 

“Anybody can bring the language. It’s just not part of the governor’s legislative package. I would be shocked if a Republican picked it up and brought it. But if it is brought, I can say with 100% confidence it will not make it out of subcommittee,” Zachary said. “A Red Flag, ERPO, will not pass in the special session period.”

The news is likely a disappointment to those who were anticipating the expanded risk protection order law. Many Democrats have been saying if the proposal had been in place long ago, the Covenant School shooting could have been prevented.

Alarms in schools

He also filed one proposal related to school safety. It would require teachers to try to determine what caused of a fire alarm before evacuating. During the mass shooting at The Covenant School, calls to 911 show at least one teacher stepped into the hallway after hearing alarms go off, thinking it could be a fire drill.

There will be several more bills filed ahead of the Aug. 21 start date.

Correction: A previous version of this story recognized Rep. Dwayne Thompson as a Republican he is a Democrat.