HOUSE BILL 1207
By Kumar
SENATE BILL 1094
By Hensley
SB1094
002921
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
Chapter 17, Part 13, relative to suicide prevention.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Suicide Prevention Act of
2025."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
39-17-1367.
(a)
(1) In an effort to prevent violence, including suicide, homicide, or mass
shooting by persons with mental illness using firearms, the Tennessee bureau of
investigation (TBI) shall establish a program for revocable voluntary waiver of
firearms rights so as to avoid purchase, possession, and transportation of
firearms by and sale of firearms to:
(A) A person who is voluntarily admitted to a public or private
hospital or treatment resource for diagnosis, observation, and treatment
of a mental illness or serious emotional disturbance in accordance with
title 33, chapter 6, part 2. A person described in this subdivision (a)(1)(A)
may submit the request form described in subdivision (a)(2) to a mental
health counselor upon release from the hospital or treatment resource,
who must then submit the form to the circuit court clerk in the county
where the hospital or treatment resource is located; or
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(B) A person who is concerned about the person's mental health
and desires to enroll in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
program. A person described in this subdivision (a)(1)(B) may submit the
request form described in subdivision (a)(2) to the circuit court clerk in the
county in which the person resides.
(2) The TBI shall create a request form for revocable voluntary waiver of
firearms rights. The form must include:
(A) A statement at the top that the form is to be submitted to the
clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the enrollee resides;
(B) A space for the enrollee to designate up to two (2) persons as
guardian angels, if the enrollee wishes to do so, provide contact
information for the guardian angels, and have the guardian angels sign
indicating consent to be the enrollee's guardian angel;
(C) An explanation that:
(i) Reasonable efforts will be made to inform a guardian
angel if the enrollee revokes the enrollee's enrollment in the
revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program; and
(ii) A designated guardian angel has no obligation to
remain available to receive or act upon the information received if
the enrollee revokes enrollment in the revocable voluntary waiver
of firearms rights program and that there is no civil or criminal
liability for failure to receive or act upon the information;
(D) A declaration of any firearms that are in the ownership of the
enrollee and the planned disposition of each firearm;
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(E) An attestation that the enrollee does not currently possess or
have access to any firearms at the time of enrolling in the revocable
voluntary waiver of firearms rights program; and
(F) An acknowledgement by the enrollee that it is an offense for a
person who is enrolled in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
program to possess, purchase, or transport a firearm and that a violation
of subsection (f) is a Class C misdemeanor.
(3) If the request form is submitted directly to the circuit court clerk, then
the circuit court clerk must require the person to present a valid photo
identification to verify the person's identity prior to accepting the form.
(4) The circuit court clerk must:
(A) Transmit the completed request form to the TBI within three
(3) business days for entry into the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms
rights program; and
(B) Transmit a copy of the completed request form to the
department of safety within three (3) business days.
(5)
(A) The TBI must maintain and update the revocable voluntary
waiver of firearms rights request data to be used, in accordance with §
39-17-1316, to advise a gun dealer if the TBI's records indicate a firearm
buyer is prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm.
(B) Upon receipt of the form, the department of safety must
revoke the person's handgun carry permit under § 39-17-1351 and § 39-
17-1366.
(6)
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(A) No sooner than fourteen (14) calendar days after filing a
revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights request form, an enrollee
may file a revocation of the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the enrollee
resides. The circuit court clerk must require a valid photo identification to
verify the person's identity prior to accepting the revocation form. The
filing of a revocation form allows the person executing the form to
purchase, possess, or transport a firearm after the TBI has completed
processing the form unless the person is otherwise ineligible to purchase
or possess a firearm under federal or state law. The circuit court clerk
must transmit the completed revocation request form to the TBI within
three (3) business days and transmit a copy of the completed revocation
request form to the department of safety within three (3) business days.
(B) By the end of the fourteenth business day following the date
on which the request for revocation was received, the TBI must:
(i) Notify the person that the person's name has been
removed from the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
program;
(ii) Make reasonable efforts to inform the person's
guardian angel of the revocation if the person has designated a
guardian angel;
(iii) Destroy all records related to the person's enrollment
in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program; and
(iv) Remove the person from the national instant criminal
background check system and other federal or state computer-
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based systems used by law enforcement to identify prohibited
purchasers of firearms in which the person's enrollment in the
revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program was
entered, unless the person is otherwise ineligible to purchase or
possess a firearm under federal or state law.
(C) By the end of the fourteenth business day following the date
on which the request for revocation was received, the department of
safety must:
(i) Reinstate the person's handgun carry permit under §
39-17-1351 and § 39-17-1366, unless the person is otherwise
ineligible to obtain a permit under state or federal law; and
(ii) Destroy all records related to the person's enrollment in
the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program after
reinstating the person's handgun carry permit.
(b) A person who knowingly makes a false statement regarding the person's
identity on an enrollment or revocation form for the revocable voluntary waiver of
firearms rights commits perjury, as defined in § 39-16-702.
(c) The TBI is authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this section. The
rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures
Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
(d) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the bureau and the department
of safety shall withhold from public disclosure all information regarding a request to be
enrolled into or removed from the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program
and any other personal identifying information contained in or related to a revocable
voluntary waiver of firearms rights, except that such information may be disclosed to a
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law enforcement officer acting in the performance of official duties, a gun dealer as
required by § 39-17-1316, the applicant with respect to the applicant's own information,
or in the course of criminal prosecution for a violation of subsection (f) or § 39-16-702.
Records obtained and produced pursuant to this section are confidential and are not an
open record pursuant to title 10, chapter 7.
(e) A request form used to enroll in or withdraw from the revocable voluntary
waiver of firearms rights program must not be considered by a court in a legal
proceeding in which the person executing the form is a party, except that such form may
be used in a criminal prosecution for a violation of subsection (f), § 39-16-702, or § 39-
17-1316.
(f) It is an offense for a person who is enrolled in the revocable voluntary waiver
of firearms rights program to purchase, possess, or transport a firearm. A violation of
this subsection (f) is a Class C misdemeanor.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1316(a)(1)(A), is amended by
adding the following new subdivision:
(vi) Are enrolled in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program
pursuant to § 39-17-1367.
SECTION 4. For the purpose of implementation, this act takes effect upon becoming a
law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect January 1, 2026,
the public welfare requiring it.