2020 PRIORITY STATE LEGISLATION

Below are the priority firearm-related bills that we will be tracking during the 2020 legislative session. Offense Legislation are bills that Safe Tennessee supports, including the five that we worked with legislators to draft and file. Defense Legislation are bills that we oppose. This list is subject to change as bills are amended and their intent changes.

Offense Legislation

Bill Number

Bill Summary

SB1807 by Kyle

(HB1873 by Johnson G)

EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS (ERPOs) / RED FLAG LAW – would allow family members and members of law enforcement who believe an individual is an imminent risk to themselves or other to petition a judge to temporarily remove the individual’s firearms. ERPOs are a civil procedure and are modeled after existing domestic violence orders of protection.

As introduced, allows a court to issue an emergency protection order upon a finding that a person poses an imminent risk of harm to the person or others if allowed to purchase or possess a firearm; authorizes a family member, household member, intimate partner, or law enforcement officer to petition for such an order. — Safe Tennessee Bill

SB2046 by Yarbro

(HB2104 by Love)

INVESTMENT IN INTERVENTION – would create a program that would award grants to community organizations working to interrupt cycles of violence in communities most impacted by violence.

As introduced, creates the Tennessee violence intervention program within the department’s office of criminal justice programs to invest in evidence-based violence reduction initiatives. — Safe Tennessee Bill

SB2240 by Kyle

(HB2347 by Clemmons)

TOO DANGEROUS IN ANOTHER STATE, TOO DANGEROUS IN TENNESSEE – if a person has been prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm under the laws of another state, they should be prohibited in Tennessee as well

As introduced, clarifies that it is an offense for a person to purchase or possess a firearm in this state if the person has been prohibited from purchasing or possessing under the laws of another state and not just Tennessee law or federal law. — Safe Tennessee Bill

SB2265 by Kyle

(HB1713 by Hardaway)

GUNS IN CARS – would prohibit leaving a gun in an unattended motor vehicle or boat if children were present; would also require guns securely stored in vehicles and kept from ordinary observation from outside the vehicle.

As introduced, prohibits leaving a handgun in an unattended motor vehicle or boat or a motor vehicle or boat that contains only persons under 18 years of age, if the firearm is not kept from ordinary observation and secured, violation of which is punishable only by fine of $50 or $100 for a second or subsequent offense.

SB1722 by Kyle

(HB2368 by Hardaway)

REPEAL “GUNS IN TRUNKS” LAW – would repeal the 2013 law that allowed gun owners to store firearms in their vehicles, even on property that prohibits firearms. Since passage of Guns in Trunks, gun thefts have gone up 256% in Memphis and 390% in Nashville, correlating with dramatic increased in homicides in those cities.

As introduced, repeals the law that allows handgun carry permit holders to transport or store a firearm or firearm ammunition in the permit holder’s motor vehicle while on or utilizing a public or private parking area if the firearm or firearm ammunition is kept from ordinary observation.

SB2236 by Gilmore

(HB2311 by Stewart)

BACKGROUND CHECKS – would prohibit selling firearms without benefit of a background check

As introduced, creates a Class C misdemeanor of advertising the sale of a firearm if the seller intends to sell or transfer the firearm, or does actually sell or transfer the firearm, without conducting a criminal history background check on the buyer; removes exceptions to criminal history background check for collectors and occasional sales by dealers or other persons.

SB1010 by Gilmore

(HB1427 by Stewart)

BACKGROUND CHECKS – would require all gun sales between private parties be completed through a licensed dealer who can conduct a background check.

As introduced, requires, when neither the seller nor purchaser of a firearm is a licensed gun dealer that the transaction be completed through a licensed gun dealer, and that the dealer perform the same background check required for purchases from licensed gun dealers. — Safe Tennessee Bill

SB0258 by Kyle

(HB0260 by Johnson G)

MAKAYLA’S LAW – would create a law that would charge adult gun owners who leave loaded firearms accessible to children under 13 if the child gains access to the gun, fires it, and injures or kills themselves or someone else.

As introduced, expands the offense of reckless endangerment to include a person’s reckless failure to render inoperable or safely secure or lock a firearm, resulting in a child under 13 years of age gaining possession of the firearm and injuring or killing the child or another. — Safe Tennessee Bill

Defense Legislation

Bill Number

Bill Summary

SB2888 by Bailey

(HB2661 by Todd)

PERMITLESS CARRY – would allow gun owners to carry loaded guns in public without a permit or any training requirement

As introduced, permits a person to carry a handgun in a concealed manner; permits a person carrying a handgun in a concealed manner to carry in parks, higher education campuses, and areas posted by local governments in the same manner permitted by handgun carry permit holders.

SB1566 by Hensley

(HB1553 by Griffey)

PERMITLESS CARRY – would allow gun owners to carry loaded guns in public without a permit or any training requirement

As introduced, creates exceptions to the offense of open or concealed carrying of a firearm with the intent to go armed for any person legally in possession and not prohibited from possessing a firearm; converts existing defenses to be exceptions.

SB1999 by Bell

(HB1662 by Farmer)

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – would no longer require a convicted domestic abuser to complete an affidavit affirming how they intend to dispossess their firearms.

As introduced, requires a defendant, prior to entering a guilty plea for a domestic violence offense, to sign a domestic violence offense firearm notification form stating the requirements of lawful dispossession, to be developed by the administrative office of the courts.

SB2288 by Bowling

(HB2102 by Bricken)

CAMPUS CARRY – would allow any student with a gun permit to carry guns on any public college or university campus, including in residence halls, classrooms, fraternity houses, and in athletic facilities.

As introduced, authorizes a registered student at a public institution of higher education to carry a handgun in a concealed manner on property owned, operated, or controlled by that institution if the student is a handgun carry permit holder and otherwise in compliance with state law.