SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. —
Local and state lawmakers are developing new solutions to help curb Memphis' crime crisis — a crisis accelerated by stolen guns. As it stands now, stealing a gun in Tennessee isn't necessarily a felony.
Currently, if a stolen gun is valued at less than $1,000 dollars, a person charged faces just a misdemeanor, no different than a traffic ticket.
State Sen. Brent Taylor (R – Memphis) wants to change that.
“There are very few crimes committed with a lawfully purchased firearm," Taylor said. "If we can catch somebody before they commit a crime and they have in their possession a stolen firearm, we'll be able to charge them with a felony and perhaps prevent a crime from occurring.”
The vast majority of handguns are valued under that $1,000 dollar threshold. Taylor plans to introduce a proposed bill when the legislative session begins next week to make all gun thefts a felony regardless of the weapons’ value.
“All these car break-ins, they're looking for handguns." Taylor said. "If they're caught in a routine traffic stop, for example, and they're in possession of stolen firearm, up until now it's just a misdemeanor. They could write him a citation for it.”
“What we’re finding here is that some of the penalties in relation to the crimes are not deterrence. Because they lack the teeth needed to make it a deterrent,” said Memphian Frederick Tappen.
Taylor expects the bill to get bipartisan support this upcoming session, and if it passes, it likely would become law in July.
"Firearms are meant to protect and provide," said Memphian Shelby Payne. "We can feed ourselves with them, we can defend ourselves with them, and we can defend our nation with them. It's a very important tool. It’s also a tool of life and death.”