FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2016
CONTACT – johnharris@tennesseefirearms.com
Knoxville, its Mayor, its Chief of Police and Others
Sued for Violating Constitutional Rights
of Firearms Owners
The Second Amendment states that the right of the citizens, a right preexisting the Constitution, "... shall not be infringed ...." Similarly, the Tennessee Constitution in Article I, Section 26, expressly protects the rights of the citizens to keep, bear and wear arms.
A lawsuit has been filed in Knoxville, Tennessee alleging that the City, Mayor Madeleine Rogero, the Chief of Police David Rausch, the Tennessee Valley Agricultural and Industrial Fair and Scott Suchmoski, individually and in a conspiracy, have violated a Tennessee law that was passed in 2015 which bans, with only minor exceptions, local governments from prohibiting civilian handgun permit holders from legally carrying firearms into places that are considered parks. The lawsuit arises from the concerted action by these entities and individuals in 2015, after the law went into effect, to prohibit citizens with handgun permits from carrying their handguns in Chilhowee Park.
John Harris, Executive Director of the Tennessee Firearms Association, announced today that "the TFA is fully supportive of this lawsuit as being necessary to enforce the rights of citizens when local governments and related parties disregard a state law that they apparently disagree with and impose, under threat of law enforcement arrest, illegal restrictions on the rights of citizens to provide for their own self-defense."
“History proves that gun free zones are a primary target for multiple victim shootings such as we have seen across the nation at movie theaters, malls, churches, schools and even National Guard posts. In 2015, the Tennessee Legislature moved to eliminate some of Tennessee's gun free zones by prohibiting local governments from regulating the possession of firearms by civilians who have handgun carry permits in public parks,” Harris said. “We do not need yet more Chattanooga incidents in public venues to confirm that the individual citizen is not safe in a government created gun free zone.”
Several sheriffs in Tennessee and from around the country have been making public statements regarding the importance of citizens being a vital component in the duty of keeping of the peace. However, citizens are denied the chance to defend themselves and others when governments arbitrarily and sometimes illegally create gun free zones. "Government created gun free zones merely identify for those intent on death and carnage the areas where the maximum amount of harm to innocent lives can be done with little or no effective opposition."
“The Volunteer State is called that for a reason,” said Harris. “We continue to ask our citizens and the Sheriffs of Tennessee to demand that the Tennessee legislature act swiftly to remove gun free zones in Tennessee and to impose severe sanctions on public officials who intentionally and knowingly violate the constitutional protected rights of Tennesseans to be able to carry firearms for self-defense."
Those seeking more information should check the Tennessee Firearms Association’s website at www.tennesseefirearms.com and can also join the TFA by going to join.tennesseefirearms.com
The Tennessee Firearms Association was founded in 1995 and was formed to defend the right to keep and bear arms and to educate the citizenry on the responsible use, ownership and carrying of firearms. The TFA is Tennessee’s only no-compromise gun group.
###
|
