Tennessee: Contact Committee Members in Opposition to Anti-Gun Legislation

On Tuesday, March 22, the House Civil Justice Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee are scheduled to vote on House Bill 2058 and Senate Bill 2294.  It is important that you contact both of these committees and urge them to oppose this erroneous legislation.

House Bill 2058, sponsored by state Representative Sherry Jones (D-Nashville), would create the offense of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm unattended and readily accessible to a child under 13 years of age.  This legislation is unnecessary and unenforceable; in those rare cases where adults are truly negligent, the existing reckless endangerment statute is adequate.  House Bill 2058 was “recommended for passage if amended” by the House Civil Justice Subcommittee and has now been scheduled for a hearing in the House Civil Justice Committee on Tuesday, March 22.  The companion bill, Senate Bill 2294, sponsored by state Senator Sara Kyle (D- Memphis), will also be up for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.  Please contact committee members and politely urge them to oppose HB 2058 and SB 2294 when they come up for a vote. 

If anti-gun legislators were serious about keeping children safe, they would know that the key to reducing firearm accidents isn't about prosecuting after the fact, it's about educating children and parents about the safe use of firearms.  For that reason, the National Rifle Association developed the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® accident prevention program that teaches children to “STOP, DON’T TOUCH, RUN AWAY and TELL A GROWN-UP.”

Please contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as well as the House Civil Justice Committee and politely urge them to oppose this unnecessary legislation, Senate Bill 2294 and House Bill 2058.  Committee members can be contacted by clicking here or the Take Action button above.