Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Firearms Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee debates mens rea, hears testimony as firearms transfer penalty bill is revised
Summary
Lawmakers debated language that would criminalize knowingly transferring firearms to people prohibited from possessing them and adopted a technical amendment; a Robertson County witness urged the committee the bill "can and will save lives." Members asked legal staff to refine 'knows or reasonably should know' language and later moved the bill to the special calendar for further work.
Committee members spent substantial time probing House Bill 599 after an amendment that changed the bill's enactment date was adopted. The sponsor said the bill aims to close a gap that currently allows some prohibited persons to receive firearms without penalty and described the proposal as focused on holding people accountable who knowingly transfer firearms to those barred from ownership.
A Robertson County resident, Johanna Cohen, testified in support and urged passage, saying the measure "can and will save lives" and citing state statistics she said reflect roughly 1,400 firearm deaths in Tennessee in 2024 and that firearm suicides accounted for more than 800 of those deaths. Members pressed legal counsel on whether inserting the phrase "reasonably should know" would lower the mens rea standard; Office of Legal Services attorney Michelle Fogarty said that language could require a jury finding that a defendant "reasonably should have known" the recipient was prohibited, which could be a different standard than intent. To allow staff to refine the language, the committee ultimately moved the bill to the special calendar to be published with the final calendar.
