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SB1191 • 2026

Firearms and Ammunition

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 33 and Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13, relative to firearms.

Firearms Healthcare
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Akbari, Brooks
Last action
2026-03-25
Official status
Failed in Senate Judiciary Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Akilah's Law: Firearm Restrictions for Mental Health Patients

This law makes it illegal to sell or give a firearm to someone who has been treated in a mental health facility within the last five years, unless they were only there for alcohol abuse and no other issues.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates 'Akilah's Law' which stops people from selling firearms to individuals who have been patients at mental health facilities within the past five years.
  • Defines a 'mental institution' as any place that mainly treats people with mental illness, including hospitals and clinics.
  • Specifies that someone is considered a patient if they were admitted for treatment, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, except when it was only for alcohol abuse without other issues like drug addiction or mental health problems.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who have been patients at mental health facilities within the last five years.
  • Individuals selling firearms to others.

Terms To Know

Mental institution
A place that mainly treats people with mental illness, such as hospitals and clinics.
Patient in a mental institution
Someone who was admitted to a mental health facility for treatment, whether they wanted to go or not, except if it was only for alcohol abuse without other issues like drug addiction or mental health problems.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and is no longer being considered.
  • It does not specify what happens if someone sells a firearm to an individual who has been treated at a mental institution within the last five years.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to SB1191

Plain English: The amendment changes the start date when certain parts of the bill about firearms would begin to be enforced.

  • Changes the effective date from an unspecified date to July 1, 2026.
  • The original effective date is not provided in the amendment text, so it's unclear what the previous start date was.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal. in Judiciary Committee

  2. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed in Senate Judiciary Committee

  3. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/1/2026

  4. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2026

  5. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/25/2026

  6. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026

  7. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

  8. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/24/2026

  9. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/23/2026

  10. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/23/2026

  11. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026

  12. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/24/2026

  13. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  14. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026

  15. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026

  16. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/18/2026

  17. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/18/2026

  18. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/11/2026

  19. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/11/2026

  20. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/4/2026

  21. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    No Action Taken

  22. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee

  23. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/8/2025

  24. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/8/2025

  25. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/9/2025

  26. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/9/2025

  27. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/2/2025

  28. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/2/2025

  29. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/1/2025

  30. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2025

  31. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  32. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/31/2025

  33. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/2/2025

  34. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  35. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  36. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/26/2025

  37. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/26/2025

  38. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/19/2025

  39. 2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  40. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  41. 2025-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  42. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  43. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  44. 2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  45. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  46. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  47. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  48. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  49. 2025-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

This bill enacts "Akilah's Law," which pr
ovides that it is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a sentence of imprisonment not greater than 11 months, 29 days, or a fine not to exceed $2,500, or both, to sell, offer to sell, deliver, or transfer a firearm to a person
knowing that the person has
,
within the previous five
years, been
admitted, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to a mental institution unless the treatment was voluntary and solely for an alcohol abuse disorder and no other secondary substance abuse disorder or mental illness.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 947
By Brooks

SENATE BILL 1191
By Akbari

SB1191
002367
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 33
and Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13, relative to
firearms.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as "Akilah's Law."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1316(q), is amended by
adding the following as a new subdivision:
(6)
(A) It is an offense to sell, offer to sell, deliver, or transfer a firearm to a
person knowing that the person has been a patient in a mental institution at any
time within the previous five (5) years.
(B) As used in this subdivision (q)(6):
(i) "Mental institution" means any hospital, institution, clinic,
evaluation facility, mental health center, or part thereof, that is used
primarily for the care of persons with mental illness; and
(ii) "Patient in a mental institution" means a person who was
admitted, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to a mental institution unless
the treatment was voluntary and solely for an alcohol abuse disorder and
no other secondary substance abuse disorder or mental illness.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.