State Senate OKs guns-in-parks bill
But amendment to allow weapons in Capitol shoots law back to House
NASHVILLE — The state Senate approved a bill Wednesday to allow handgun-carry permit holders to go armed in parks in Tennessee despite the objections of the local governments that operate them.
The Senate approved the bill 26-7 but added an amendment to allow permit holders to carry guns in the State Capitol, Legislative Plaza and War Memorial Building, where lawmakers’ offices and hearing rooms are housed and where guns are currently banned. Security checkpoints and metal detectors at those buildings frequently create long lines for admission.
The bill won House approval Monday but the amendment forces the bill to return there for either agreement with or rejection of the amendment. If the House concurs, the bill goes to Gov. Bill Haslam, who has expressed reservations about guns in parks and greenways bordering schools but has not said whether he will sign it into law or veto it.
“The governor has raised concerns about the legislation,” said Haslam’s press secretary, David Smith. If it comes to his desk, he’ll review it in its final form like he does all legislation before taking any action on it.”
If the House rejects the amendment, it returns to the Senate, whose members would have to decide whether to fight to keep the amendment. But with 500,000 Tennessee gun-carry permit holders, House members may be loathe to kill the amendment.
House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, said she hopes the House does not concur in the Senate amendment. “The amendment is not well written and was not offered in a constructive fash-
ion. It would be my preference that we non-concur,” she said.
The bill’s intent is to remove provisions in state law that allow city councils, boards of aldermen and county commissions to ban guns, including those carried by permit holders, from city and county parks under their control. In 2009, the state legislature approved a law allowing handguncarry permit holders to go armed in state and local parks unless local legislative bodies vote to ban guns in parks they own and operate.
Several cities and counties maintained gun bans in their local parks, including Memphis, Germantown, Shelby County, Nashville, Knoxville and Williamson County.
If it becomes law, House Bill 995 will allow carry-permit holders from Tennessee and other states whose permits Tennessee recognizes to carry guns into “public parks, natural areas, historic parks, nature trails, campgrounds, forests, greenways, waterways or other similar public places.”
Much discussion focused on parks that border schools or are used for school events. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Stevens, RHuntingdon, said provisions in current state law that prohibit guns in parks during school events still apply. But no member mentioned that last week, and the Senate voted 26-5 to alter part of that law as well. Senate Bill 149 would have removed “the prohibition on carrying a weapon on property that is used, but not owned or operated, by” schools. That bill failed in a House subcommittee.
Senators who voted “no” on Wednesday’s bill were Lee Harris, D-Memphis; Sara Kyle, D-Memphis; Reginald Tate, D-Memphis; Steven Dickerson, R-Nashville; Thelma Harper, D-Nashville; Doug Overbey, R-Maryville; and Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville. All others voted for the bill.
Senators voted down an amendment by Minority Leader Harris that would have allowed local governments to institute a temporary ban on guns in parks during security-sensitive events, such as a Ku Klux Klan rally.
Harris said that in Memphis, the parks department also operates other facilities where guns are banned. “Does the sponsor intend to allow guns in the Memphis Zoo, in the Children’s Museum, in the Liberty Bowl where the University of Memphis plays football, in the Brooks Museum of Art — all facilities operated by the Memphis Parks Department?” Harris asked.
Said Stevens: “These (carrypermit holders) are individuals who have been vetted by the state and who statistics say do not commit crimes generally, and if they do it is in a much lower percentage than the general public. This is about the right to self-defense enshrined in the Constitution. It’s the right to protect yourself and where do you need to protect yourself ? You need to protect yourself where you are. If you are in those facilities and someone who does not have a handgun carry permit gets through those security measures, the permit holders need to be able to protect themselves wherever they are.”
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero said she’s “disappointed with the legislation that passed in the Senate. We believe this should be a matter of local authority, and our existing policy has worked very well to keep our parks safe and welcoming for all.”
The Knoxville Parks and Recreation Department currently does not allow firearms in city parks.
Overbey said the Senate debate “reconfirmed my thinking, that this is a matter for the local governments to take into consideration their particular needs and circumstances. They are elected officials elected by the people just like we are. They can discuss the Second Amendment and whether there are reasons specific to their localities” to maintain bans, the Maryville senator said.