On February 27, 2020, Governor Lee announced that he was filing an
“administration bill” to implement “constitutional carry” in Tennessee.
At the time that the announcement was made, TFA was excited to hear
that the Governor was going to support constitutional carry. However,
that excitement was tempered by the fact that he did not identify the
specific bill by number, that there was no release of any amendment or
language for the bill and that all we had at the time was his
description of the bill.
TFA has now received what it believes to be a copy of the amendment
(download from the TFA news post) that will be made to
SB2671/HB2817.
That bill, as presently written, has nothing to do with handguns.
That bill is set for hearing in the House Constitutional Protections
subcommittee AND in Senate Judiciary on March 3. That bill, according
to the state’s website this morning, has no amendments. Yet, we now
have a copy of an amendment to that bill (link is below) which deletes
everything in the original bill and substitutes language that is similar
to what the Governor described in his press announcement last week.
What is current law?
Current
Tennessee law says that “person commits an offense who carries, with
the intent to go armed, a firearm or a club.” TCA 39-17-1307(a)(1). A
violation can be charged as a Class C misdemeanor or a Class A
misdemeanor. See, TCA 39-17-1307(a)(2). Its a Class A misdemeanor (up
to 11 months, 29 days in jail) if the possession “… occurred at a place
open to the public where one (1) or more persons were present.” Thus,
most illegal possession charges could be brought as Class A
misdemeanors.
What does this amendment, assuming its the final amendment, to implement Governor Lee’s changes do?
Section 1 of the proposed law does not alter TCA 39-17-1307(a). What it does is create a new subpart (g) that says this:
It is an exception to the application of subsection (a) that a person is carrying, whether openly or concealed, a handgun and:(1) The person meets the qualifications for the issuance of an enhanced handgun carry permit under § 39-17-1351(b) and (c);
(2) The person lawfully possesses the handgun; and
(3) The person is in a place where the person has a right to be.
The amendment creates an exception to a charge of illegal carrying if certain conditions are met.
What are the conditions?
The
bill contains numerous conditions that could exclude some individuals
who otherwise can legally possess a handgun from being able to carry a
handgun in Tennessee under this proposed permitless carry exception:
- subsection (g)(1) by adopting 39-17-1351(b) the bill is limited to Tennessee residents only
- subsection
(g)(1) by adopting 39-17-1351(b) the bill is limited to lawful US
citizens and those who are lawful permanent residents
- subsection
(g)(1) by adopting 39-17-1351(b) the bill is limited to those who are
not prohibited from possessing a firearm under TCA 39-17-1307(b), 18 USC
922(g) “or any other state or federal law”
- subsection
(g)(1) by adopting 39-17-1351(b) the bill is limited to those 21 and up
and a limited group of individuals who are 18 – 20 depending on whether
the individual is or has had military experience
- subsection
(g)(1) by adopting 39-17-1351(c) the bill adopts all of the conditions
for applying for an enhanced handgun permit including some conditions
which do not disqualify a person from legally purchasing or possessing a
firearm under state or federal law
- subsection (g)(2)
requires that the person lawfully possess “the handgun” which could
raise the question of whether the standard applies to a specific handgun
as opposed to the right to possess handguns in general
- subsection (g)(3) requires that the person be in a place where the person has a right to be
Sections 2-5 of the bill amend existing law to allow someone who is
able to transport a firearm, even under this new proposed subpart (g) to
store the weapon in a personal vehicle as long as it is parked where
the owner has a right to park the car. Note, however, that there is no
language to amend existing TCA 50-1-312 which is the statute that allows
employees to store weapons in employee parking lots which presumably
would still be limited to handgun permit holders.
Sections 6-7
address the duty of handgun permit holders to display their permits on
demand of law enforcement and include minor adjustments relative to the
capability of individuals to engage in permitless carry under this bill.
Sections 8-12 address either new or increased penalties for individuals who steal guns or commit crimes with guns.
Legislation of this type that already has the Governor’s support and
the support of many in the Legislature tells us it is likely to pass.
The real question is, in reviewing the present bill language, is this
what will be enacted or will it be amended prior to passage and, if so,
how.
Because the Senate has no subcommittee, we should know by
March 3 whether the above discussed amendment is the actual bill and
also whether there are any amendments favorable to protecting the right
of the citizens to carry arms. If you have comments on the bill, it
is critical that you contact your House and Senate members as well as
the members of the Senate Judiciary and the House Constitutional
Protections subcommittee during the next 24 -30 hours and share your
thoughts and wishes with them.
Calendar Report for week of March 2, 2020
There
are a number of bills on the calendar for this week including the
Governor’s recently announced bill which is set in the House and Senate
on March 3. The PDF of the calendar report is linked below.
GOA / TFA 2nd Amendment Rally on March 10
Don’t forget the planned GOA/TFA 2nd Amendment Rally on March 10.
Speakers are expected to include Erich Pratt from GOA, Dick Heller,
several special guest Legislators.
The 2nd Amendment Rally at the Tennessee Legislature is set for March 10, 2020.
It
will start by 9:00 am in the old Supreme Court Chambers in the state
capitol (a gun free zone). [NOTE: If weather permits and attendance
calls for it, this portion of the event may be moved outside to capitol
grounds on the morning of the event!] During this time, there will be
guest legislators and speakers to address those in attendance.
Following
that meeting, the rally participants are expected to move into the
Legislature’s office building (the Cordell Hull building at 425 5th Ave
N, Nashville, TN 37243). During this time, we are asking that groups of
Rally attendees circulate and speak with Legislators and staff about
passing true constitutional carry (with an optional permit) this year in
Tennessee, eliminating gun free zones, repealing the “concealed only
permit”, etc.
It is critical that you call in advance of March
10 to schedule an appointment that day with your individual legislators.
You can get their names and office numbers on the legislature’s
website which has a
“lookup” tool based on your street address.
NOTICE!!!!
By decision of Bill Lee, guns are prohibited in the capitol – no
exceptions! By decision of the Legislature, handgun permit holders are
allowed to carry concealed only in their offices in the Cordell Hull
building. Since part of the Rally will be in the capitol, permit
holders who are in possession of their handguns will not be able to
participate in the meeting in the capitol (you can call in advance and
ask Bill Lee to remove that restriction on your right to carry a handgun).
GOA has set up an
Eventbrite page in an effort to gauge the level of attendance in advance of the Rally. Please sign up today!