(The Center Square) – Threatening mass violence could soon become a felony in Tennessee if a plan from Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, passes during the upcoming special session on public safety set to begin at 4 p.m. on Aug. 21.
No Senate bills have been filed and posted on the state Legislature’s website but four House bills have been.
Haile’s proposal states the person who threatens mass violence would receive a felony charge and then follow due process, seemingly a reference to a red flag proposal from Gov. Bill Lee where law enforcement could create a temporary mental health order of protection against a person that would require them to give up firearms before a complete court process.
“So much of the conversation about this special session has centered around guns, but inanimate objects are not the problem,” Haile said. “Violent criminals are the problem. This legislation does not go after inanimate objects. Instead, it goes after criminals who intend to do significant harm to a group of other people, regardless of if the violence could be committed with a firearm, vehicle, bomb, or other weapon.”
Another proposal, from Sen. Page Walley, R-Savannah, would improve communication between local law enforcement and mental health institutions by requiring those institutions to inform law enforcement when a patient is involuntarily committed or released from a psychiatric institution.
“Currently the way the law is written, mental health institutions only alert law enforcement about involuntary commitments in the jurisdiction of the institution,” said Walley, a licensed clinical psychologist. “However, if the patient lives in a different county than the location of the mental health facility, then law enforcement in the patient’s county is uninformed.”
Walley is proposing a separate bill that would require a minimum five-year sentence for using a firearm in a crime. The bill would mirror a federal law and mean that offenders face the same minimum in both state and federal courts and cannot plea to a lower sentence.
“Unlike federal law, under current Tennessee law, there is no mandatory minimum sentence for using a firearm in the commission of a crime,” Walley said. “This discrepancy creates a loophole for violent criminals to avoid a longer sentence. This legislation would close that loophole and ensure these offenders are behind bars for at least five years.”
Shelby County Sens. Paul Rose, R-Covington, and Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, plan to introduce a package of legislation to increase penalties for firearm-related crimes.
Those include adding to the penalties for stolen firearms and ammunition, domestic violence offenders who use firearms, firearms used in felonies and altering the serial number on firearms.
“Part of living in a free society is ensuring law-abiding citizens are free to live their lives without fear of being terrorized by criminals,” Rose said. “In this special session, I look forward to focusing on measures to protect the livelihoods of our citizens by keeping dangerous criminals off the streets.”
