BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — A pair of Democratic lawmakers from Middle Tennessee said they are working to create legislation that's aimed at curtailing gun thefts from cars.
Democratic lawmakers Rep. Caleb Hemmer and Senator Jeff Yarbro told NBC affiliate WSMV that they are working to develop legislation that could punish people who leave guns unsecured in cars. The Metro Nashville Police Department said almost 600 guns were stolen out of cars so far this year — 19 last week.
“We know that illegal guns are the source of most crimes. We know that the largest source of illegal guns comes from gun theft from unsecured cars so if you want to do something about crime, maybe you should do something about that,” Yarbro said.
They said they are still working on the legislation, and are not entirely sure what the consequences could be for leaving guns unsecured in cars. They could range from a warning to requiring people to take an online safety class.
“No one wants to punish people, but we want to make sure that people are being responsible with firearms. That’s the basics here,” Yarbro said.
During the last legislative session, a version of the bill was defeated. The lawmakers said they hope the bill will be passed during the upcoming legislative session.
“We look at the polling. There have been four or five statewide quality polls, and each one of them have said the legislature is out of step with what they want in terms of the core common sense gun measures include secure storage, background checks, red flag laws,” Hemmer said.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group that aims to reduce gun violence, guns stolen from cars are the most common form of gun theft.
I also said guns have been stolen more frequently from cars in Tennessee cities than in cities outside the state, more than doubling the rate of thefts from cars in non-Tennessee cities.
