The Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, today released the following statement after the Tennessee House of Representatives passed HB 2660, an expansion of Tennessee’s Stand Your Ground law that would delay and possibly discourage people from seeking justice in the civil court system:
“All across the country, we’re finally starting a long-overdue reckoning with the immense toll that gun violence and police violence have taken on Black communities,” said Carrson Everett, a volunteer with Tri Cities Students Demand Action at Dobyns-Bennett High School. “And Stand Your Ground laws contribute to that toll – they bolster a systemically racist, ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ culture. Our lawmakers should be repealing this racist policy, not expanding it.”
“Stand Your Ground laws encourage violence and lead to more deaths,” said Jess Joyner, a volunteer with Tennessee Moms Demand Action. “It’s appalling that lawmakers would even consider making it even harder for survivors and their families to get the justice they deserve.”
Stand Your Ground laws are associated with clear increases in gun homicides and encourage violence, often among those with violent backgrounds. And when white shooters kill Black victims, the resulting homicides are deemed justifiable 11 times more frequently than when the shooter is Black and the victim is white. More information about Stand Your Ground laws is available here.
