Republican Senator Drafts Proposal For Upcoming Special Session On Gun Control And Safety

Image Credit: Senator Ferrell Haile / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –

With Tennessee’s special session less than a week away, it has been reported that Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin-District 18) has drafted legislation to “help prevent mass violence.” 

According to The Tennessean, Haile has been working throughout the summer to come up with a proposal that “Covenant families and the National Rifle Association [NRA] can agree on.”

Both the NRA and Covenant families are currently involved in opposing sides of a lawsuit over release of the Covenant school shooter’s writings.

“It’s taken three months of working with this and talking with lots of people to try and come to something that is meaningful, that will make a difference,” said Haile. 

In the process of drafting his legislation, the lawmaker has sought feedback from several state agencies and doesn’t anticipate opposition from the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the Administrative Office of the Courts, the District Attorneys General Conference, or the Department of Mental Health. 

Currently, the lawmaker’s proposal seeks to make any threat of violence against four or more people a felony, whether that violence could be committed using a firearm, vehicle, bomb, or any other weapon. 

Penalties would also be increased if the threat is made against a school, church, government building, or any other location where 250+ visit every day. 

Right now, threats of mass violence towards a school are a misdemeanor offense just like a speeding ticket. 

“Folks are just kind of appalled that this is only a misdemeanor,” Haile said, “which is not much different than a speeding ticket.”

Ever since the upcoming special session, scheduled to begin on August 21^st, was announced earlier this year, Tennesseans have been waiting to see how their elected officials will handle possible gun control legislation. 

“This special session call is a result of the shooting at Covenant school. There’s no question about that. But that should not be our only focus.” Haile said in an interview. “We feel like if we change this, then we could have (if there had been a report made and had been followed up), then we could have gotten the Christmas bomber, the Covenant shooter, and the patient that killed a physician in Memphis just last week.”

Verbal, written, or electronically communicated threats would all fall under Haile’s proposal. However, a defendant would have to have previously taken notable steps towards carrying out their threat. 

This could include things like obtaining a weapon or writing down a plan of attack (i.e., the Covenant school shooter’s so-called manifesto), but what constitutes a substantial step towards violence like this would remain at the discretion of district attorneys and law enforcement. 

Those charged with a felony would be eligible for bail just like with any other felony, and no weapons would be confiscated from the defendant at that point. 

“That’s due process,” said Haile.

Defendants would still be required to participate in a mental health evaluation and behavioral risk assessment so the judge can decide how to set their bail.

According to Haile, he has shared the drafted legislation with the NRA and the group does not oppose the current proposal. 

“I had not been working with the NRA,” said Haile. “I had paid attention to the ideas they had put forward – they wanted due process, and they felt like it was an individual issue, not an across-the-board, everybody-who-owns-a-gun-is-a-suspect type of deal.” 

The drafted legislation has also been shared with Covenant school parents and they are reportedly in support of the current proposal.  

Haile expects that his legislation will pass, as long as it makes it to the House and Senate floors for an official vote.

“I anticipate there’ll be a lot of co-sponsors on these bills,” he said. “If this gets to the floor, I think it gets passed very easily.”

About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.