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Memphis groups unite to push for tougher gun penalties By BETH RUCKER, WKRN.com NASHVILLE, Tenn. A package of legislation that aims for tougher penalties on violent crimes committed with guns has united Memphis residents in pushing for support from Gov. Phil Bredesen. On Tuesday, a few dozen Memphis residents joined their legislative representatives, both Democratic and Republican, and law enforcement officials to urge Bredesen to support tougher penalties against people who commit violent gun and gang crimes. The bills carry a recurring price tag of $56.8 million. "It's time to step up to the plate," Memphis Police Chief Larry Godwin said. "This bill will remove the baddest of the bad off the streets." The bills appear to have broad support in the Legislature and community, but they don't have the full support of one of the people who can most influence their passage: the governor. "I don't begin to know where you get the $80 million it takes for the full package that they want," Bredesen said Tuesday. The legislation previously carried a price tag of $80 million before several items were revised to drop its fiscal impact to the state. Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, is sponsoring the main bill in the package, dubbed the "Crooks with Guns" bill, and said even the current price tag is grossly overestimated. That bill was approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, but is now headed for a tougher challenge in the Senate Finance Committee. Its companion is scheduled to be heard Wednesday in a House finance subcommittee. The price focuses on the cost of incarcerating the additional people convicted under stronger penalties. Norris said it's wrong to assume many more people would be incarcerated, most who commit violent gun crimes are repeat offenders. Bredesen said he could support something with a price tag in the range of $10 million to $15 million, but his priority is changing Tennessee's educationstructure with budget surplus funds and a cigarette tax increase. "He's not looking at the merits of the matter," Norris said. "He's not interested in the project." Supporters of the gun bills say public safety should be among the top priorities of the government, because crime data shows Tennessee ranks high for number of violent crimes. They say the governor is putting too much priority on some of his other projects, including plans to research alternative fuels and to conserve 124,000 acres of forest land on the Cumberland Plateau. The combined $123 million Bredesen wants to spend on the fuel and forest proposals would be one-timeexpenditures, with the land being paid for by a bond issue. "No one can learn when they're being shot at on the way to school," said Elizabeth Norman, 46, of Memphis. Having seen the effects of gun violence in Memphis everyday, many leaders of the city's black community have been supporting the legislation. A recent violent rape committed in a wealthy and primarily white neighborhood in Memphis has sparked additional support in recent days from that community. Stevie Moore, a 56-year-old Memphis man, doesn't care where the money comes from but is adamant that it's necessary. Moore, who served prison time in the late '70s andearly '80s on drug convictions, lost one of his twin sons, 23-year-old Prentice Moore, when he was shot in the head by fire from an AK-47 in May 2003. "I can't bring my son back, but I can help prevent someone else's child from dying," he said. "Right now, we're trying to keep up with the cancer, but we've got to prevent it." Moore, who is black, said he was not disappointed that it took a crime in the white community to galvanize additional support for the bills, but rather encouraged. "I applaud them for stepping up to do something," he said. "It woke up the community. There should be 600 (members of the black community) out here, too." |
