Tennessee Deadly Force Bill SB1847 Heads to Gov. Lee After Narrowing Property Defense Language

AmmoLand ^ | May 8, 2026 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

The Tennessee Legislature has sent Gov. Bill Lee a narrow but important reform to the state’s deadly-force law, and the fight over SB1847/HB1802 shows how much can change between a bill’s introduction and the final version that reaches a governor’s desk.

The Tennessee Legislature passed SB1847 on April 23, the last day of the legislative session. SB1847 includes the legal justification to use deadly force to protect property under certain limited circumstances. In this correspondent’s reading of the law, the legal ability to use deadly force under the bill is not very wide or broad. In the previous law, residents could use force to protect or recover property, but not deadly force.

The new language allows residents to use deadly force to prevent “the other’s imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or aggravated cruelty to animals; “if the resident reasonably believes the property cannot otherwise be protected and the use of lesser force would expose the resident or a third party to “a risk of death, serious bodily injury, or grave sexual abuse.”

The initial versions of the law were more radical. They allowed the use of deadly force to prevent trespassing.  They prohibited a person from using deadly force if the suspect was facing away from them. Both instances were radical changes in the use of deadly force law in Tennessee. In the final debates leading to the passage of the bill, both the trespass and “facing away” parts of the bill were removed in the last amendment before both houses passed the bill.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: banglist; defense; reform; tn

[marktwain]

The bill was sent to Governor Lee on May 11, 2026. By my calculation, Governor Lee has until May 23 to veto, sign, or allow the bill to become law without his signature.

[DeplorablePaul]

Good. Gun owners should be able to protect property.

[fwdude]

Confronting the thieves is likely to result in using deadly force to protect your own life, which is always justified.

[rktman]

You would think so right. Still waiting to see if charges are brought against the civilian who helped in the Cambridge shooting the other day.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Either way, it’s still a case of gun owners facing the legal meat grinder, based on the opinions of the police, DAs, judges and juries. The devil is in the details.

It is a great pitch for gun owner insurance.

“Gun owner insurance, often called concealed carry (CCW) or firearm liability insurance, provides legal and financial protection for self-defense incidents or accidental shootings, covering expenses like attorneys, bail, and civil damages. While not legally required, it fills gaps left by typical homeowners insurance, which often excludes intentional acts or gun-related incidents.”

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/concealed-carry-insurance-comparison-chart/