Gun reform is possible in Tennessee if we let research and policy guide us | Opinion

Since the ban on semi-automatic weapons expired, the number of military weapons in civilian hands has turned our country into a war zone.

We have been told that Tennesseans outside of Nashville don’t want gun safety laws. Recently, we went to Hendersonville to understand if we truly are in the minority in our desire for responsible gun ownership. In two back-to-back conversations I heard an identical statement: “We had guns in the back of our truck when we were growing up and we never had these problems.” They went on to say they agreed that guns were not regulated enough. But this has been a marathon and not a sprint; progress has been slow.

But earlier this month, after another shooting occurred in a mall in Allen, Texas, I realized: we don’t have time for a marathon. Bullets, jetting out of a hundred-round-capacity magazine, don’t wait for us to slowly build consensus to protect our kids.

Leadership can be courageous and respectful in hearing every perspective, despite the threat of lost elections and shaming billboards.

In this pursuit, I offer policy positions on the most pressing issues we must address in order to actually have a fighting chance in protecting the children in our state.

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Extreme risk protection orders (ERPO):

The ERPO system in Tennessee must enforce both removal of the weapon from the individual and storage in a facility that ensures it will not get back into the individual’s possession without permission from a judge. The law must allow a temporary removal period in emergencies. A lot can happen in the three days it takes for a court to order weapon removal from someone who is a danger to themself or another. A temporary removal period could save lives until the court determines the risk.

Safe storage in the home:

Many states hold the gun owner responsible if a minor could get access to the firearm in the home, versus if a minor actually gets access. Many would say this is not an option in Tennessee — not true — responsible gun owners support safe storage.

Training, Wait Periods, and Background Checks:

Prospective gun owners must take training and submit to a waiting period to own a gun. Every responsible gun owner we’ve talked to, along with 77% of Americans, supports this.

Background checks must be bolstered. A recent article in the Tennessean revealed that the TBI is backlogged with over 230,000 court cases unlinked to criminal records. There’s no way to conduct a meaningful background check if the records aren’t accurate. Our systems need to be fixed for these laws to work.

Magazine Restrictions:

If we can limit magazine capacity to ten rounds per magazine, we can limit the harm done and increase the amount of time needed to reload the gun, which offers security and police an opportunity to disarm the person.

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Semi-automatic Protections:

Semi-automatic rifles are not typically used in hunting and are unnecessary for self-defense. They are simply guns that sell well and drive revenue. But the damage they create makes survival impossible after being hit, which is not true for a handgun. But even crib bumpers are regulated more.

40% of Washington state residents are gun owners, yet they still passed a semi-automatic rifle ban. Existing gun owners do not get their guns taken away, but these arms can no longer be purchased in Washington. We can take this step, too.

Gun transactions topped out at 600,000 in Tennessee last year. The majority of these, I believe, were conducted by responsible gun owners. I do not believe that any Tennessean is willing to risk a child being killed by a gun the next time they go out into the world. We can take logical measures and we can be courageous. And all of that is very Tennessean.

Maryam Abolfazli is a writer and political economic development social impact consultant. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Gun safety is in reach of Tennesseans if policy, research prevail