Northeast Tennessee lawmakers are announcing legislation to overhaul the state's domestic violence laws. If you'd like to learn more, legislators and local authorities are hosting a seminar November 17th in Johnson City called the "Protect our Families Conference."
The event is designed to gather community input on needed domestic violence changes. Domestic violence organizations also want to educate the public on how domestic violence affects a community.
The East Tennessee Legislative Delegation plans to introduce a comprehensive bill targeting seven areas of domestic violence. It will include proposals of new charges for offenders among other initiatives.
"What's lacking is mandatory holding times so shelters have the opportunity to get victims to safety and police officers have time to get victim's to safety," said Lynn Armstrong, program director for the group Safe Passage.
Protect our Families Conference
Date: Tuesday, November 17th
Time: 9:30 am - 11:30 am
Where: First Tennessee Human Resource Agency
2203 McKinley Rd. Johnson City, TN