Permitless handgun carry bill advances in legislature
A controversial bill to allow Tennesseans to carry guns without permits is advancing in both chambers of the legislature, even as law enforcement leaders continue to speak out against the measure.
The permitless carry bill, part of Gov. Bill Lee’s legislative package and dubbed “constitutional carry” by Republicans promoting the effort, was filed in one form or another in recent years but has yet to pass the General Assembly.
The legislation would allow for both open and concealed carrying of handguns for people 21 and older without a permit, as well as for military members age 18 to 20.
It also increases punishments for certain gun crimes, such as boosting theft of a firearm from a misdemeanor to a felony and mandating six months of incarceration for the offense, up from the current 30-day sentence.
Supporters of the legislation argue the state’s current permitting process — which Republicans weakened two years ago — is out of line.
“Under our current permitting process, it is certainly a violation of your Second Amendment, Fourth Amendment rights and others,” House Majority Leader William Lamberth, Rportland, said during a Wednesday committee meeting.
Lamberth is a sponsor of the governor’s legislation, while Senate Majorupheld ity Leader Jack Johnson, R-franklin, carries it in the other chamber.
The bill passed the Senate judiciary committee Tuesday and will move on to the finance committee. House criminal justice subcommittee on Wednesday also approved the legislation and sent it to the full criminal justice full for consideration.
Lawmakers amended the legislation to prohibit those convicted of stalking or two instances of driving under the influence from carrying a firearm, in addition to those who have been committed by the court to a mental institution.
Republicans insist gun permitting a violation of their rights
“We want to gain back some of the freedoms that we lost,” said Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-bean Station. “All this talk about permits is unconstitutional. I wish we would understand it that way.”
Rep. Bill Beck, Dnashville, explained to Sexton that courts have
some restrictions on constitutional rights are appropriate, such as gun permits. Facing repercussions for yelling “fire” in the committee room would not be a violation of his First Amendment rights, for example, Beck said.
“It’s been tried over and over,” Beck said. “‘Constitutional carry’ is not an absolute right when you’re talking about the safety and welfare of our police and other citizens.”
Sexton said the courts “get it wrong” sometimes.
Leading law enforcement officials and prosecutors around the state have been among those speaking out about the legislation, which former Gov. Bill Haslam opposed when it previously was filed.
Deputy Chief Samuel Hines of the Memphis Police Department and Retired Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe of the Tennessee Sheriff ’s Association each testified in the last week against the bill. Jimmy Musice from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also spoke against the effort.
Lee announced last year he was endorsing an effort to pass a permitless carry bill. But his plans were derailed as the pandemic worsened and the Senate announced it would only take up timesensitive legislation.
Police and prosecutors for years have opposed the legislation, explaining it would make communities less safe and increase safety risks for officers.
In 2019, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill allowing individuals to opt to take a much shorter online class to receive a basic permit, rather than an all-day in person course.
Current Tennessee gun permit system believed to be widely accepted
While a Vanderbilt University poll found in December 2019 that Tennesseans were overwhelmingly against making it easier to purchase a firearm, there is no independent statewide public polling yet on permitless carry.
A 2019 poll commissioned by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group, found 75% of Tennesseans opposed or strongly opposed removing permit requirements to carry a gun, while even more said they believed individuals should have to complete a course and obtain a permit to carry a loaded gun in public.
Ahead of the first committee meetings, a small group of Christian leaders also spoke out against the legislation.
“Our state is now facing a test of our willingness to prevent disasters of our own making,” said Kevin Riggs, senior pastor of Franklin Community Church, who along with two other church leaders condemned the bill last week on a call organized by the Southern Christian Coalition.
Eugene Sebree, associate pastor of Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, said he has carried a gun under the state’s permitting system for more than 20 years and has attended multiple courses on firearms.
“So I understand the desire to protect your families,” Sebree said. “But more importantly, we must do so in a way that is responsible and protects our community and our city and state at large.
“Any time we decrease gun laws, we are inviting violence and crime to increase in our communities, and that is not what we need to do here in Tennessee.”
In a statement Tuesday, the National Association for Gun Rights called Lee’s legislation “faux Constitutional Carry” as Dudley Brown, the group’s president, railed against the governor’s “failed leadership” for not seeking to remove permit requirements for those ages 18-20 and for people carrying long guns.
A bill by Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-paris, would do just that, though. Griffey’s permitless carry legislation also passed the House subcommittee on Wednesday.