As the CDC and Health Departments continue to issue guidance to practice social distancing and cancel meetings to mitigate spread of the Coronavirus, as of Monday afternoon, the Tennessee Legislature plans to continue with the legislative session, but will close the Cordell Hull Building and State Capitol to everyone other than legislators, staff, and members of the media. In other
Read moreWhen Governor Lee and others in the Tennessee General Assembly decided to go all in on an an NRA-backed bill that would remove the requirement to obtain a criminal background check and safety training to carry a loaded firearm in public, they knew they would get pushback from citizens and gun violence prevention advocates. And while Tennesseans and advocacy groups
Read moreEach year, the Centers for Disease Control updates their Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) database with fatal injury data provided by state health departments. Data included in this report was sourced from the WISQARS database. The 2018 fatal injury data was recently released. Gun violence continues to be a serious public health issue in Tennessee. Based on
Read moreIn Tennessee, few gun laws passed in the last decade have been as controversial as “guns in trunks.” And few gun laws have made the public less safe. The first time the legislation came close to passing was in 2012. The business community was vehemently opposed to the idea. Rep. Debra Maggart, the Republican Caucus Chair and lifetime NRA member
Read moreLegislation has recently been introduced in Tennessee that would allow students with gun permits to carry firearms on the campus of any public college or university, including in residence halls, classrooms, offices, fraternity houses, cafeterias, and athletic facilities. In 2016, the Tennessee legislature passed a law to allow faculty and full-time employees with permits to carry guns on campus, although
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