Senator Mark Green presented his constitutional carry bill (SB1438)
today in the Senate Judiciary committee. This bill would have, as
amended, imposed only the burden on a citizen of obtaining at least 8
hours of training from any state approved, law enforcement or military
certified firearms training instructor and that the citizen carry proof
of such training.
The bill is retained at present in Senate Judiciary on a 4-4-1 vote
as discussed below. The bill is not defeated but it can be placed back
on notice under the Senate rules or it can be moved by the sponsor,
Senator Green, to be brought directly to the Senate floor for debate and
a vote.
Senator Mark Green did a great job of presenting and defending the
bill. You can view the video of his presentation on the bill’s
legislative page under the “video” tab.
http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB1438
You should also watch the video and pay particular attention to other
other segments of the video – but only if you have a strong stomach.
First, Sen. Kerry Roberts made very compelling statements and
challenges to the existing system and question why a constitutional
right is burdened by the State of Tennessee with fees and hurdles.
Those of you in Senator Green’s and Senator Robert’s districts should
contact them and congratulate them.
However, there was extremely troubling testimony from Colonel Tracy Trott (Tennessee Department of Safety
– https://www.tn.gov/safety/article/trottbio) suggesting that its
necessary for the State to regulate and continue to charge citizens for
the exercise of a constitutionally protected right. It is important to
realize that this bill does not eliminate permits for reciprocity or
other purposes. Col. Trott’s testimony against this legislation is,
although difficult to summarize, troubling and perhaps calls into
question why a public official, who is sworn to uphold and protect our
constitutional rights, is engaging in what appears to be an open act of
official oppression designed specifically to infringe our civil rights –
a constitutionally recognized and protected civil right. Most likely,
it is because his ultimate boss, Bill Haslam, opposes citizens carrying
firearms as a constitutional right despite his promises to the
contrary. See, www.tennesseefirearms.com/haslam
If you would like to contact Col. Tracy Trott after you have watched his testimony here is his contact information:
Colonel Tracy G. Trott
Tennessee Highway Patrol
1150 Foster Ave.
Nashville, TN 37243
(615) 251-5175
Fax: (615) 532-1051
tracy.trott@tn.gov
Now, to the problem that implicates why we have elections and the issues of veracity.
Reported verbal commitments from legislators in advance of the
meeting indicated that we should have had a six to three vote on the
bill. The six expected votes ran on party lines with the two Democrats
(Sen. Lee Harris and Sen. Sarah Kyle) along with Sen. Doug Overby, a
Republic who normally votes like a Democrat all expected to vote against
the bill. However, contact had been made with all six of the other
Republicans and they were expected to vote for the bill: Sen. Mike
Bell, Sen. Janice Bowling, Sen. Todd Gardenhire, Sen. Brian Kelsey, Sen.
Kerry Roberts and Sen. John Stevens.
However, when the votes were taken only four votes were cast in favor
of the bill: Sen. Mike Bell, Sen. Janice Bowling, Sen. Brian Kelsey,
and Sen. Kerry Roberts. Each of these deserve a thank you for their
votes.
Significantly, it could be argued that two of the remaining
Republicans Sen. Todd Gardenhire and Sen. John Stevens are solely and
exclusive at fault for holding this legislation hostage in the
committee. Sen. Gardenhire “passed” – that is he pulled a Barack Obama
and was “present but not voting.”
Equally troubling but not totally
unexpected was Sen. John Stevens who voted “no” on the bill.
Those of
you who live in the districts of these two senators – or anywhere in the
state – should let them know how you feel about their actions (and you
may even want to consider running against them in their 2016 primary
races since both of them appear to be up for re-election this year!)
Sen. Todd Gardenhire
sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov
301 6th Avenue North
Suite 11A Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: (615) 741-6682
Fax: (615) 253-0209
District Address
P.O. Box 4506
Chattanooga, TN 37405
Sen. John Stevens
sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov
301 6th Avenue North
Suite 302 War Memorial Bldg.
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: (615) 741-4576
Fax: (615) 253-0161
District Address
161 Court Square
Huntingdon, TN 38344
(731) 986-9742
This battle is not over but we have to accept that Bill Haslam, his
minions and too many people living their lives on your tax dollars, as
well as several elected officials, are doing everything in their powers
to oppress your rights. If that irritates you, please join or renew your membership in the Tennessee Firearms Association at join.tennesseefirearms.com
Also, please consider making PAC contributions
to the TFA’s PAC (the TFALAC) so that we can raise the funds to support
challengers to some of these oath-breaking incumbents and defend those
who stand up for our constitutions! Please go now and contribute $50, $100, $250, or whatever you can to fund this battle against the “oath breakers”. 
