New federal Medicaid dollars may help Tennessee ease gun violence with a “proactive approach” sponsored by two state Democrats who say inaction by Republicans has been “shameful” and that the party is “scared of the [National Rifle Association].”
State Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) and Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) filed legislation that could flow Medicaid dollars here for community violence intervention programs proposed by Preisdent Joe Biden in 2021.
So far, seven states have received the funds, which require a match by states. The money is used to bolster existing programs that hope to stop gun violence well before someone picks up a firearm.
“For example, violence interruption programs deploy trusted messengers to work directly with individuals most likely to commit gun violence, intervene in conflicts, and connect people to social and economic services to reduce the likelihood of gun violence as an answer,” reads a statement from the White House. “Hospital-based violence interventions engage people who have been shot while they are still in the hospital, connecting them to services to decrease the likelihood that they commit gun violence or are victimized in the future. Programs like these have reduced homicides by as much as 60 percent in areas where they are implemented.”
The bill from Lamar and Jones would authorize Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to request the federal funding and the state matching funds. Then, TennCare officials would be responsible for identifying existing programs or creating new ones to use the funds.
“This legislation represents an opportunity for us to try a more holistic approach to reducing gun violence — an approach that recognizes the effect issues, such as poverty, education and mental health, have on crime,” Jones said. “It is a vital step in expanding the funding and resources necessary to protect our communities.”
Both Lamar and Jones ripped Republicans for inaction on gun violence in Tennessee, pointing to few laws of substance passed on the issue in the wake of the Covenant School shooting last year.
Since Republicans ended the legislative session last April, there have been 1,096 shootings — more than three per day — in Tennessee said Lamar, quoting facts from Tennessee Under the Gun, a data project from the Tennessee Senate Democrats. Since then, there have been 11 mass shootings where four or more people were shot, not including the shooter. Since the last sessions ended, 417 adults and 47 children were killed by gun violence in Tennessee.
So far this year, there have been 114 shootings in Tennessee and one mass shooting, that of Courdarion Craft who killed one person and injured two others in a weekend crime spree here this past weekend.
However, Lamar said data hasn’t changed the minds of Republicans who, ultimately, have the power to change gun violence in Tennessee.
“There is nothing anybody can say to me that [can prove] Republicans have done what they’re supposed to do for the good of people,” Lamar said. “They are too scared of the NRA and gun lobbyists than they are of babies dying.”
“There is not another piece of data we can produce for them to change their minds. They actually know what the problem is. They’re making a conscious and deliberate decision not to do anything.”
Meanwhile, state Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) has introduced several bills to tamp gun violence in Tennessee. One bill would ban the manufacture of semi-automatic rifles in Tennessee. He also would ban the manufacture, transfer, or sale of magazine clips that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. He also wants to require anyone who has lost a gun to report the loss to state officials within 24 hours.
