Tennessee governor Bill Lee's special session of the legislature will now go longer than anyone expected. Both the state house and senate are set to reconvene Monday, but most commentators admit they don't know what will ultimately pass.
What governor Bill Lee wanted passed most of all was some version of a "red flag law" that would keep guns away from people who may be a threat to themselves or others.
Still, it appears Lee's fellow republicans have killed any hopes of that happening, and instead have set their sights on juvenile crime.
"We were trying to stay away from the special session conversation," Memphis Police Department chief C.J. Davis said at a community awareness forum on Saturday.
Still, at some point, her department will have to enforce whatever lawmakers in Nashville pass. As of now, it appears that won't include any new gun safety measures as the Republican super majority strictly sticks to the parameters set in governor Bill Lee's initial call.
"We one hundred percent supported the governor's call for a special session," Memphis mayor Jim Strickland said.
But one of the few proposals that seems to have any momentum is a bill that uses something called "blended sentencing."
In other words, it would allows those aged 16 and up to be tried in adult court for gun-related offenses. This includes firearm thefts.
It's a major issue here in Memphis where more than 1,300 guns were stolen from vehicles so far this year.
House speaker Cameron Sexton is firmly behind the "blended sentencing" measure.
"if you're 16 and 17 and you're trying to kill somebody you shouldn't be tried as a juvenile," Sexton said. You shouldn't be tired as a juvenile. You should be charged as an adult and going to adult court."
The speaker said he believes it will prevent violent crime.
"Our blended sentencing allows that to happen and tries our best to get the juveniles away from the criminal activity and back into the school," he said.
Memphis mayor Jim Strickland welcomes this.
"A bright line needs to be drawn and individuals need to know — these young people need to know — if you kill somebody, there are serious consequences that you will have to face," Strickland said.
Still, many Memphians who work with youth are skeptical. They Cardell Orrin of the Shelby County Juvenile Task Force said it's easy to "over-criminalize our young people."
"We want to ensure that we are not detaining more and more of our young people." Orrin said. "We just can't just lock our way up out of getting to safety. We can't over-police our way to getting to safety."
While state lawmakers have so far failed to pass a single piece of legislation, it hasn't been cheap.
Each day of the special session is estimated to cost $60,000 per day — not including overtime and other expenses with Tennessee troopers who've been on duty.