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CrimeStoppers of Memphis and Shelby County has joined the Crime Commission, Moms Demand Action and other groups to bring attention to ways to alleviate gun violence in a “Guns Down, Don’t Shoot!” march July 15 in south Memphis.
The half-mile walk will bring attention to steps that could help reduce gun crime, including restoring required handgun carry permits and enacting legislation for extreme risk protection orders. Walkers will gather at 810 Western Park Drive. The walk starts at 8:30 a.m. that Saturday.
The Tennessee General Assembly changed the handgun permits law in 2020, by allowing the carrying of a handgun for the purpose of going armed – concealed or open – without a permit and no background check or firearm training. Before that year permits were required for carrying a handgun in public.
Sponsors of the walk also seek a mental health order of protection law. Such legislation would be a tool that law enforcement agencies and family members could use when an individual appears at high risk of doing harm with a firearm but has not yet committed a crime. The law would allow a court to issue an order temporarily removing firearms from a person the court believes is a present danger to self or others.
Memphis Police Department will provide traffic control and protection at the walk. Other sponsors include the Memphis Police Association, SafeWays, Baker Donelson, Alliance-Healthcare Services, Lifeline to Success, the YWCA, Freedom From Unnecessary Negatives, South Memphis Alliance, Community Redevelopment Agency, Downtown Memphis Commission and Dobbs Management Service/Dobbs Peterbilt.
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