(The Center Square) – Democrats and Republicans in Tennessee’s House of Representatives are sponsoring a bill that would increase penalties for reckless endangerment if it involves “community terrorism.”
House Bill 184 defines “community terrorism as crimes within a known geographic gang territory or ones that are committed within 1,000 feet of schools, child care facilities, libraries, recreational centers or parks.”
The charge of reckless endangerment under the present law could be a misdemeanor or felony in cases where a firearm is involved. The new classification would be a Class C felony, and anyone convicted of the charge would be required to have a five-year restriction on their driver’s license. Anyone convicted would also be barred from the geographic area where the crime occurred and required to wear a global positioning monitoring device.
“You can do a drive-by shooting and still keep your driver’s license,” Rep. G.A. Hardway, D-Memphis, said about the current law in the House Judiciary Committee meeting on Wednesday. “It doesn’t make sense. We’ve got instances where we have repeat offenders who can be out on parole or out on probation and we can’t keep up with them.”
The bill is cosponsored by Majority Leader William Lamberth and Republican Rep. Clay Doggett of Pulaski. Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, where it is assigned to the Judiciary subcommittee.
All members of the House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend that the bill move forward to a Finance, Ways and Means subcommittee. Democratic Reps. Gabby Salinas, Gloria Johnson and Jason Powell did not vote.
