Add Your Voice to Others Who Support Gun Control
Thank you for wanting to make a difference in the area of gun violence in our country.
The letters on this page provide examples of the language you can use to write your own letters. They can be easily adapted to legislation at any level of government - in Tennessee, Kentucky, or nationwide.
While there are broad, nationwide movements to address this issue, we wanted to make you aware of two pieces of legislation that have recently been debated in the Tennessee state legislature. They are used in these sample letters.
In light of recent events, these specific bills may not make it to the floor this session in Tennessee, but we still want to express our opposition to them.
- HB1158/SB1498 are companion bills that would seek to lower the age for a concealed carry permit from age 21 to age 18.
- HB1202/SB1325 are companion bills that would allow teachers and other school personnel to carry firearms on school grounds.
Both of these laws would make our communities less safe and we urge you to contact officials in Tennessee’s state government to oppose these two bills.
The letters on this page also offer sample language you can use when calling, emailing, or visiting your representatives.
You can use them as a model to address any new legislation that you may oppose. Likewise, if new legislation is brought forward that you agree with, please write these representatives to express your support.
Feel free to use language from the sample letters below to write your own!
<Insert Government Representative's Address>
<Date>
Dear <Insert Government Representative Name Here>
I am writing to you to express my opposition to HB1158/SB1498, the bill that would lower the age requirement to obtain an enhanced or concealed handgun carry permit from age 21 to age 18.
As a person of faith in The United Methodist tradition, I believe that the answer to gun violence in our state is not for more and younger people to have access to firearms.
In our denomination’s Book of Resolutions, we specifically endorse “establishing a minimum age of 21 years for a gun purchase or possession.”
Furthermore, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says that teenagers are more likely to “act on impulse, get involved in fights, and engage in dangerous or risky behavior,” and are less likely to “think before they act or pause to consider the consequences of their actions.”
The National Institute of Mental Health notes that “the brain finishes developing and maturing in the mid-to-late 20s.”
We don’t let 18, 19, and 20-year-olds purchase alcohol, so why would we trust them with a deadly firearm?
<INSERT PERSONAL REMARKS HERE>
I implore you to vote no on these bills and protect Tennessee’s citizens, not make them more vulnerable to gun violence by a young person whose brain has not yet fully developed.
Sincerely,
<INSERT YOUR NAME HERE>
<INCLUDE YOUR FULL ADDRESS>
<Insert Government Representative's Address>
<Date>
Dear <Insert Government Representative Name Here>
I am writing to you to express my opposition to HB1202/SB1325, the bill that would authorize school personnel to carry a handgun on school grounds.
As a person of faith in The United Methodist tradition, I believe that the answer to gun violence in our schools is not to add more guns to our schools. We ask teachers to serve so many roles for our students—from educators to counselors to social workers; we don’t need to ask them to also serve as armed guards.
As we witnessed from the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, even professional law enforcement officers with regular ongoing training were unable or unwilling to respond appropriately to a school shooter; there is no way that an annual training would prepare a school teacher for a similar situation.
Furthermore, bringing more guns onto school grounds increases the likelihood of a gun incident, either by a teacher or by a student. Having armed civilians also complicates the response by law enforcement.
<INSERT PERSONAL REMARKS HERE>
I implore you to keep our children and school personnel safe and vote no to these bills.
Sincerely,
<INSERT YOUR NAME HERE>
<INCLUDE YOUR FULL ADDRESS>