Lawmakers speak about bill proposals to address crime crisis in Memphis and Shelby County
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Shelby County delegation plans to pass several pieces of legislation, if they can garner bipartisan support.
“This is an important first step in bringing all of the players together and it crosses party lines and different tiers of government,” said Democratic Rep. Antonio Parkinson. Parkinson has several pieces of legislation targeting adults who help kids commit crimes.
One would make it a felony offense for an adult to give a minor a weapon.
Another would make it a felony for an adult to induce a minor to commit a crime on their behalf, while also charging that adult with the crime the kid committed.
Republican Representative John Gillespie is planning to persuade his colleagues to offer tax incentives for individuals to purchase gun locks, which he hopes will keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
Gillespie is also working with Senator Brent Taylor from Memphis-l on a piece of legislation to block information about bank accounts from determining bail amounts.
“A lot of people, especially in gangs, don’t have a traditional bank account. They keep money under their mattress. It’s not fair they get released, especially for violent crimes,” Gillespie told FOX13.
Each of these delegates vowing to make bipartisan participation a goal, so that Memphis can have a fighting chance not to repeat the record-shattering year for crime we had in 2023.
“Unfortunately because of the drastic nature of some of the crimes over the last year,” Gillespie said. “It’s caught the attention of all of my colleagues much more than it has previously.”
The 113th general assembly session starts next week.
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