This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with WPLN/Nashville Public Radio. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.
Two Republican state lawmakers in Tennessee have filed legislation that aims to protect domestic violence victims by requiring more transparency from people who’ve been ordered by a court to give up their guns.
The bill’s introduction follows WPLN and ProPublica reporting that found the state’s lax gun laws and enforcement allow firearms to remain in the hands of abusers who’ve been barred from keeping them, including some who have gone on to kill their victims. In Tennessee, when someone is convicted of a domestic violence charge or is subject to an order of protection, they are not allowed to possess a gun.
Tennessee is one of about a dozen states that allows someone who is ordered to surrender their guns to give them to a third party, such as a friend or relative. And it’s one of the only states that doesn’t require that person to be identified in court, leaving the legal system no way to check up on them. Someone could say they gave up their guns but still have access to them, advocates for domestic violence victims say.
WPLN and ProPublica’s most recent reporting on guns highlighted the work of rural Scott County, which has revolutionized its approach to reducing domestic violence, in part by requiring gun-dispossession forms to include the names of the people who are receiving the firearms.
State Rep. Kelly Keisling, a Republican who represents Scott County, and state Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knoxville, now want to take that change statewide. Massey pointed to WPLN and ProPublica’s reporting on Scott County as inspiration for the bill. But she said it’s unclear what its chances are with the state’s Republican supermajority.
“The kiss of death to a bill is to say it would be easy,” Massey said. “Time will tell. You don’t know whether you can accomplish something unless you try. But I mean, it’s not changing the law. They are supposed to dispossess. So it’s just a matter of what the form is like.”
While amending the public form is a simple step, it could have a massive payoff, said Christy Harness, who has worked in domestic violence in Scott County for decades and manages the county’s family justice center, which helps victims.
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“You are kidding me!” a jubilant Harness said when she heard the news about the bill. “My gosh. How awesome for victims across the state.”
Tennessee consistently has one of the highest rates of women killed by men, and most of those homicides are committed with guns. WPLN and ProPublica’s analysis of homicide data and court records in Nashville showed that from 2007 to 2024, nearly 40% of those who died in domestic violence shootings were killed by someone who should not have had access to a firearm at the time of the crime.
“Had they not been able to maintain possession of that firearm or it was given to somebody who we could check with, then maybe we’ve done that extra step to save somebody’s life,” Harness said.
Research has shown that domestic violence incidents are highly likely to become lethal when a firearm is involved. And the dangers extend outside the home, too — one study showed domestic violence calls are among the most dangerous for law enforcement to respond to, and researchers found that mass shooters often have a history of domestic violence.
Requiring the name and address of third-party holders in gun-dispossession cases “really is an added protection for the peace of mind of victims,” said Judge Scarlett Ellis, who oversees Scott County’s domestic violence court. “There’s a little bit more accountability.”
Ellis said she has not had anyone refuse to fill out, sign or return the amended form — even in a rural, conservative, Second Amendment-friendly county like hers. Scott has voted for Donald Trump by the highest percentage of any county in Tennessee for the past two presidential elections.
“This is just a clear example of when a community gets behind enforcing the law, it doesn't matter how big you are, how small you are — changes can be made,” Ellis said.
