On the day the state law took effect, local elected officials on Monday promoted a recently passed bill that would ban people with multiple misdemeanor convictions from owning guns.
The law, known as the Chris Wright Act, allows local district attorneys to upgrade a misdemeanor to a felony under certain circumstances, most of which involve repeat offenders.
According to the law, possible offenses include domestic violence, child abuse, driving under the influence of alcohol, theft and vandalism.
The law was passed by the state legislature in April and signed by Governor Bill Lee in May. It was a response to the shooting of Wright, a Chattanooga native, in downtown Chattanooga in September.
According to witnesses, an argument broke out between Wright and Darryl Roberts before Roberts allegedly fired his weapon.
Roberts has a long criminal history, including previous felony convictions that should have prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
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On Monday, Republican Senator Bo Watson of Hixson, Republican Representative Patsy Hazlewood of Signal Mountain and District Attorney Coty Wamp spoke at a press conference at the Hamilton County Courthouse to mark the new law.
Watson, who was the bill’s main sponsor along with Hazlewood, said Hamilton County’s local delegation pushed for the bill’s passage.
“Habitat offenders will no longer be tolerated in our communities,” Watson said.
Hazlewood said the law is a long overdue measure to prevent repeat offenders from making cities and towns across the state of Tennessee a safety hazard.
“They were allowed to simply install a revolving door and then go back on the street,” Hazlewood said.
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Wamp said the new law is retroactive. She said the misdemeanors were chosen because they are the most common crimes.
In an interview after the news conference, Wamp said the law does not automatically apply to repeat offenders. She said her office, like other prosecutors in the state, will have discretion in deciding whether to charge a repeat offender as a felon.
“It depends on the facts and circumstances. If we have a 22-year-old who has shoplifted a couple of times – maybe a couple of other minor offenses – we don’t necessarily need to try to convict that woman,” Wamp said. “It depends on the facts.”
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She said the aim of the law in general is to deter people from committing multiple offenses.
“You just get a slap on the wrist,” Wamp said. “Now there will be a criminal consequence if you are convicted of the same crimes over and over again.”
The law not only allows for the prosecution of people with multiple offenses as felons, but also changes the definition of domestic violence offenses.
Before this law was passed, domestic violence was considered a crime under state law only if the perpetrator was in a committed relationship with the victim and had been convicted of assault twice in the past.
Under the new law, any incident involving a third or subsequent offense in which someone “intentionally, knowingly or negligently causes bodily injury to another person” will now be considered a criminal offense.
Contact Ben Sessoms at [email protected] or 423-757-6354.
