Time to make gun-toting felons serve real time

NashvilleCityPaper.com
March 2, 2007

“Severely weak.”

That is how the state’s busiest prosecutor this week described Tennessee’s illegal gun laws.

Actually, the Tennessee Public Safety Commission, a group made up of the Davidson County prosecutor, Torry Johnson, his counterparts across the state, and Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police from Memphis to the Tri Cities, said the Volunteer state has “some of the weakest illegal gun laws in the country.”

And after nearly 20 years, they want to do something about that, by having the legislature repeal – for gun crimes – the law that lets many convicted felons serve only 30 percent of their sentence before being released back on the street.

It is hard to find an overly compelling reason not to support this proposal.

For one, it makes sense. For far too long our state’s – and our city’s – most violent and dangerous criminals have been arrested, prosecuted and locked away, only to be released after sometimes stunningly short prison sentences.

And statistic after statistic shows that the majority of those persons arrested by police have previously been convicted of major crimes. In Nashville, it’s not just a majority, it’s 60 – 70 percent.

Secondly, this bill is aimed directly at the right target; individuals who use guns to commit felonies, or those who have illegal firearms on them while committing felonies.

It’s a far cry from the broad brush “just outlaw the guns” solution often pushed by some looking for an easy way out of the crime predicament.

In short, all the bill does is tell our most violent criminals, ‘Hey, you want to arm yourself while you break the law? Then you won’t be coming back around any time soon.’

When our prisons were so overcrowded that inmates were suing the state – and winning – the 30 percent sentencing law made sense.

But that was a long time ago, police and prosecutors say, and during a period – especially in Nashville – when nature of violent crime was only beginning to become what it is today.

At this juncture, the only realistic concern is the price tag.

The cost of the Crooks With Guns bill has been estimated to be roughly $30 million. The entire legislative package, including a $30 million bill to enhance charges on people who commit crimes in groups – gangs – and a roughly $6 million proposal to add 64 prosecutors to DA offices across the state, will likely run into the $70 million range.

Certainly, that is by no means inexpensive.

But legislators from Democratic House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh to Senate Republican Caucus Leader Mark Norris have called these three bills long overdue, and absolutely necessary for the safety and welfare of all Tennesseans.

And when it comes to being able to keep crooks who use guns away from our children, we couldn’t agree more.