Gun control measures and candidates won in Tennessee. Build on that momentum. | Opinion

One thing is clear coming out of Tennessee’s recent election cycle: where gun control was on the ballot, gun control won.

Instances in which Tennesseans were asked to cast their votes in favor of gun reform laws and candidates were few, but significant – and supported by voters across the political spectrum.

Furthermore, a recent survey conducted just prior to the election shows significant support among all Tennesseans for stricter gun legislation.

I believe these are bellwethers, giving hope to millions statewide who want to protect the right to gun ownership while putting sensible laws in place that protect public safety.

Let’s start in the west and move east.

Vast majority of Memphians want stricter firearms laws

In Memphis, which recorded 399 homicides in 2023 alone, voters overwhelmingly passed three referenda that, though likely unenforceable, are the resounding cry of people demanding common-sense reform:

• 81% of voters wanted a ban on carrying a gun without a permit.
• 80% of voters wanted to ban assault weapons and stop their sale in Memphis.
• 84% of voters wanted “red flag” laws to block the sale of guns to people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

Though the measures received bipartisan support from state legislators representing Memphis, out-of-state gun rights groups immediately filed suit against the city and some Republican state lawmakers derided the referenda; one even called them “as meaningless as a nutrition chart on a bag of ice.”

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But gun control is not meaningless in the Memphis region – neither in the heavily blue city nor the purple and red county. In fact, the City of Memphis and Shelby County Government announced Nov. 14 the establishment of the Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety, which will bring together area organizations that combat crime and gun violence to share ideas, information, resources, and – in the words of Memphis Mayor Paul Young – “speak with one voice.”   

Waffle House shooting victim's mother was sent to the legislature

Now let’s head to Nashville, where Democrat Shaundelle Brooks, the mother of one of the victims of the city’s Waffle House mass shooting in 2018 and a champion of gun reform, beat Republican Chad Bobo by 10 points to win the District 60 House seat.

Brooks, whose victory was one of few bright spots for Tennessee Democrats, won handily as primarily a single-issue candidate. She has been front-and-center on gun reform in Middle Tennessee, including on behalf of the “Covenant Moms,” who were treated shamelessly by the Republican supermajority at the state legislature in the wake of the Covenant School massacre of children and teachers in 2023.

I submit that Tennessee candidates who follow Brooks’ lead in future elections also are likely to win in a state the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks 7^th overall for homicides and 5th for firearms homicides of children.

Red flag laws receive a majority of support in ETSU poll

Which brings us east to Johnson City, where East Tennessee State University in October released the results of a statewide study showing 56% of all Tennesseans surveyed support so-called “red flag” laws. These allow judges to temporarily remove guns from people who pose a risk to themselves or others.

“This high level of support among Tennesseans contrasts sharply with recent legislation passed within the state and signed by the governor, which prevents local municipalities from enforcing extreme risk protection orders,” the report concluded. In other words, state legislation designed to prevent Memphis from enacting the “red flag” referendum 84% of voters just passed.

I currently serve on the statewide Gun Violence Prevention Steering Committee, a coalition focused on addressing gun violence for what it is – a public health crisis – and working to identify and employ gun violence prevention strategies.

Lawmakers would do well to listen to us – and heed the will of the majority. Tennesseans from east to west want sensible gun laws, no matter their age, ethnicity or party affiliation. It stands to reason that ballot initiatives and candidates who give the majority what they want are going to get a majority of votes.

Finally, I urge my fellow Tennesseans who want to live in peace to look to the future with hope. View these small but mighty victories as a sign of better days to come. If the election has shown us anything, it’s that a safer, healthier Tennessee is on the horizon if we just keep moving towards it.

Rev. Dr. J. Lawrence Turner is the Senior Pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis and the founder of the African American Clergy Collective of Tennessee.