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YEARWOOD AT BLUEBIRD
FEBRUARY 23, 2023 | VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 8
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State Rep. Hemmer, Sen. Yarbro introduce ‘common sense’ gun bill that pushes for ‘accountability’ with gun thefts from vehicles BY MATT MASTERS
Newly-elected District 59 State Rep. Caleb Hemmer and District 21 State Sen. Jeff Yarbro, who last week announced his bid for Nashville mayor, have proposed a new bill aimed at holding gun owners accountable when their guns are stolen from vehicles. The bill would require a person to keep firearms “from ordinary observation and locked within the trunk, utility or glove box, or a locked container securely affixed to the motor vehicle or boat” when a vehicle is unoccupied, and require them to report a loss or theft of a firearm within 24 hours of discovery of the missing weapon. A violation would result in a Class C misdemeanor which would only be punishable by the completion of a courtapproved firearm safety course “We want to make sure that this is done in a way that is effective and in a way that works,” Hemmer said, adding that he is himself a gun owner. On Feb. 14, the Metro Nashville Police Department announced that 149 guns, or 77% of total reported stolen guns so far this year in Nashville, have been taken from vehicles. In an interview with The News, Hemmer specifically cited the 2019 murder of 24-year-old Nashville musician Kyle Yorlets in a shooting and armed robbery that involved five juveniles aged 12 to 16 years old who committed the crime with a stolen vehicle and stolen gun. Hemmer also spoke of his own personal experience as a student at Nashville’s John Trotwood Moore Middle School in 1994 when an accidental shooting claimed the
life of 13-year-old Terrance Murray in what was the first and only instance of fatal gun violence in a Metro Nashville Public School. “I have the scars of this everyday, so I want to make sure that people lock up their guns and be responsible gun owners,” Hemmer said. “This is a really big selfinflicted wound that we have in this state and something that we can do something about pretty easily.” “It’s genuinely a no-brainer to stop leading the nation in letting criminals get free guns out of unlocked cars,” Yarbro said in a Facebook post. “Proud to be working with Rep. Caleb Hemmer on a solution.” Hemmer said that he has had conversations with local law enforcement agencies, and has earned the support of Moms Demand Action, a group focused on promoting public safety measures related to guns and gun violence, but added that he did not hear back from either the Tennessee Firearms Association or the National Rifle Association when he attempted to get their input on the bill. “We need to do something better, doing nothing is not going to work anymore,” Hemmer said. “So we need to do something to help Tennesseans create some accountability for their actions and be more safe in terms of their firearm storage.” Last week also saw an announcement from the Biden administration and the U.S. Justice Department of an investment of more than $231 million in funding to 49 states, territories and the District of Columbia as part of the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program, with the goal of reducing gun >> PAGE 5 violence nationally.
PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS
State Sen. Jeff Yarbro
State Sen. Jeff Yarbro announces bid for mayor BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT
State Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) launched a campaign for mayor Friday. Yarbro, an attorney at Bass, Berry & Sims, was first elected to the Senate in 2014 and was most recently reelected in November. He spent four years as Senate minority leader. The lawmaker initially emerged on the political scene in 2010 when he narrowly lost a Democratic primary race against longtime Sen. Douglas Henry. Four years later, he won the seat. Yarbro sees his near-decade in the legislature as an asset in the mayoral
campaign, with tensions between Metro Government and the Tennessee General Assembly continuing to worsen in recent months. He arrived at the legislature as the body had recently transitioned from generational Democratic leadership to Republican dominance. As the leader of the tiny Senate Democratic Caucus, Yarbro frequently found himself as the lone voice on a committee or in news stories opposing conservative priorities or supporting doomed Democratic ones. “The question facing this city is who will decide Nashville’s future,” >> PAGE 2
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