Crime

Investigation finds nearly 1 in 8 Tennesseans trying to buy guns from online marketplace were legally prohibited from purchase

NASHVILLE PRIDE — Investigators posted ads in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and Ohio for gun sales.

Published

6 years ago

February 17, 2019

By Pride Newsdesk

The Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, responded after a yearlong Everytown investigation uncovered nearly 1.2 million ads on Armslist for firearm sales that would not legally require a criminal background check. Those ads included 83,656 ads for guns for sale in Tennessee, the third-highest number of ads in the country.

As part of the Armslist investigation, investigators posted ads in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and Ohio for gun sales that would not require a background check. Of the people who responded with interest in buying a gun in Tennessee, nearly one in eight buyers was legally prohibited from buying or possessing a gun, and would have failed a background check at a licensed gun dealer.

Despite this, Tennessee lawmakers continue to introduce legislation that would undermine the state’s permitting system by making it easy for people to carry loaded handguns in public without a background check. As of the filing deadline, Tennessee lawmakers have filed bills that would weaken the permitting system and prevent law enforcement from enforcing the law, along with bills undermining the efficacy of the permit system’s background check. The intent of these bills is to move Tennessee closer to becoming one of the small handful of states that allow ‘permitless carry.’ The few states that have eliminated their permitting requirement altogether have seen a substantial increase in firearm violence.

“This investigation makes it clear that it is far too easy for someone with a dangerous history to get a gun in Tennessee,” said Kat McRitchie, volunteer leader with the Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “Yet our lawmakers remain fixated on laws that threaten our permitting system and put our communities in danger, instead of working on legislation that would actually make Tennessee safer.”

This report comes as Tennessee lawmakers continue to introduce legislation that removes safeguards that ensure people with dangerous histories don’t carry loaded handguns in public places. A poll conducted in 2017 showed that 93% of Tennessee voters (including 93% of Republicans, 88% of gun owners and 89% of current permit holders) support the state’s current permit requirement for carrying a handgun in public.

Everytown also unveiled a new website, <everytownresearch.org/unchecked>, which allows people to search and compare the national, state and county numbers of ads placed on Armslist for gun sales where no background check was legally required.

This article originally appeared in the Nashville Pride.

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Activism

‘Donald Trump Is Not a God:’ Rep. Bennie Thompson Blasts Trump’s Call to Jail Him

“Donald Trump is not a god,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

Published

4 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he not intimidated by President-elect Donald Trump, who, during an interview on “Meet the Press,” called for the congressman to be jailed for his role as chairman of the special congressional committee investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Donald Trump is not a god,” Thompson told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

“He can’t prove it, nor has there been any other proof offered, which tells me that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said the 76-year-old lawmaker, who maintained that he and the bipartisan Jan. 6 Select Committee – which referred Trump for criminal prosecution – were exercising their constitutional and legislative duties.

“When someone disagrees with you, that doesn’t make it illegal; that doesn’t even make it wrong,” Thompson said, “The greatness of this country is that everyone can have their own opinion about any subject, and so for an incoming president who disagrees with the work of Congress to say ‘because I disagree, I want them jailed,’ is absolutely unbelievable.”

When asked by The Grio if he is concerned about his physical safety amid continued public ridicule from Trump, whose supporters have already proven to be violent, Thompson said, “I think every member of Congress here has to have some degree of concern, because you just never know.”

This story is based on a report from The Grio.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 11 – 17, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 11 – 17, 2024

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5 days ago

December 13, 2024

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Outgoing D.A. Pamela Price Releases Report on County Gun Violence Epidemic

The 84-page report is divided into two parts: the Public Health Impact of Violence and the Contribution of Structural Inequalities; and the Public Safety Impact of Gun Violence and the Regulation of Firearms. Each section documents trends in rising gun violence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with special attention to the rise in gun-related deaths of women and children in Alameda County. Each section advises innovative approaches for the County to address gun violence and build safe communities.

Published

1 week ago

December 8, 2024

Oakland Post

Exclusive interview with County D.A. Price days before recall election. Photo by Ken Epstein.

Pamela Price was recalled in the election on Nov. 5. File photo.

By Post Staff

Criminal Justice Reformer District Attorney Pamela Price, who is leaving office this week after losing a recall election, released a comprehensive report on the gun violence epidemic and public health emergency in Alameda County: “Tackling Gun Violence Epidemic in Alameda County: A Public Health Emergency (2019-2023).”

This report represents an unprecedented collaboration between public safety and public health partners and provides data and recommendations to guide the County’s continued work to reduce violence while advancing justice reform.

Each section documents trends in rising gun violence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with special attention to the rise in gun-related deaths of women and children in Alameda County. Each section advises innovative approaches for the County to address gun violence and build safe communities.

“Between 2019 to 2023, an average of three residents were killed by firearms each week in Alameda County, and behind every statistic is a shattered family and community,” said Price.

“Under my administration, the DA’s office has taken bold steps to combat gun violence while promoting equity and healing for survivors,” she said.

The report highlights strategies for keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Last month, the DA’s office secured a $5.5 million grant from the California Judicial Council to help improve compliance and case management for gun cases and gun relinquishment orders —the removal of guns from people prohibited from possessing a firearm – with law enforcement and court partners.

This effort builds on Price’s work in 2023 and 2024 in attacking the gun violence epidemic.

“We launched an innovative Gun Violence Restraining Order Outreach Project to educate communities about the availability of tools to remove guns and ammunition from people who are a danger to themselves and others and the intersectionality of domestic violence and gun violence and convened gun violence roundtable conversations with our law enforcement partners and collaborated with the Alameda County Public Health Department to produce this comprehensive report,” she said.

“We supported Oakland’s CEASEFIRE program through its transition and implemented a pilot Mentor Gun Diversion Program with our collaborative court partners, offering non-violent youth in possession of a gun pathways to interrupt the potential for escalating harm.” added Price.