‘Tennessee 11’ documentary depicts bipartisan effort to find common ground on gun rights and safety

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As tensions rose between Tennessee lawmakers during the special session on public safety in Aug. 2023, resulting in little legislative action, a group of bipartisan strangers worked together to find common ground on gun rights and safety.

A new documentary, The Tennessee 11 , follows 11 community members with views across the political spectrum who worked to find common ground on gun rights and safety while lawmakers met for a special legislative session on public safety in 2023.

The documentary has been selected to premier at the Nashville Film Festival on Sept. 21 and the International Black Film Festival Oct. 3.

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The group called the Tennessee 11 , formed by the Builders Movement , a nonprofit that works to overcome toxic polarization and extremist thinking, is made up of pastors, educators, community advocates, a firearms instructor, a veteran, a former law enforcement officer, a student, a public safety official, and a licensed family and marriage therapist, all with varying views on gun rights and safety.

Despite their differences, the Tennessee 11 drafted five “solution proposals” during their solution session which later received majority support from more than 30,000 Tennesseans who participated in a public feedback period: Develop and promote tools for responsible gun ownership, develop gun issue literacy resources for schools, communities, and media, reduce trauma that contributes to gun violence by investing in communities, broaden the SRO role to include law enforcement and human services, and allow temporary removal of firearms based on risk of violence.

“We [ also ] talked about issues of the heart that no matter how much you legislate, there are certain things you cannot legislate and that need to be tackled closer to home in dealing with anger, frustration; people wanting to act out in violent ways, not just with guns but with any kind of a weapon,” Dr. Kevin Shrum, lead pastor at Inglewood Baptist Church and a member of the Tennessee 11 said.

The group presented their solution proposals to Tennessee lawmakers ahead of the 2024 legislative session. The Tennessee General Assembly later passed a bipartisan bill similar to one of the Tennessee 11’s proposals, which requires local education agencies and public charter schools to provide age and grade-appropriate instruction on firearm safety.

“I think when we think about, ‘Oh, we’re going to have a conversation and look to have solutions and we may possibly compromise,’ that people feel like they’re losing a part of themselves, maybe they feel like they’re losing a part of who they feel like they are; their morals or values, but you realize that more people have things in common than not,” Arriell Gipson Martin, a municipal government official, community advocate, and member of the Tennessee 11 said.

Members of the Tennessee 11 told News 2 they were pleasantly surprised at what they accomplished and learned from each other through active listening and honest conversations.

“We may not be as divided as we think we are in this country, but we don’t talk to each other,” Shrum said. “There are some times you agree to disagree, but you can do that civilly, and then there are times that you may find more agreement than you think you had at first, but it comes with talking with each other honestly.”

The Tennessee 11 documentary will showcase the group’s efforts to find common ground on gun rights and safety, highlighting the importance of working together despite any differences.

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Gipson Martin hopes it shows Tennesseans that anyone can be “solutions-oriented.”

“Just model what we did,” she said. “Have the honest conversation, practice active listening, listen to really learn from each other, give space for each other to be heard, and figure out where to meet in the middle of all that. If they can just do that, I think we can accomplish so much.”

The Tennessee 11 documentary premiers at the Nashville Film Festival Sept. 21 at the Regal Green Hills Theatre 1. The documentary will air again Tuesday, Sept. 24 at the Franklin Theatre. Tickets will be available to those with festival badges, which can be purchased here. The film will also air at the International Black Film Festival in Nashville on Oct. 3

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