Some might raise the question of whether the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in
New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen has any impact on Tennessee? That is, does the holding in
Bruen
have any impact on Tennessee’s laws, regulations, executive orders,
local government actions and even the sworn oaths of elected and
appointed officials?
The answer is already resolved by the constitution and the Courts and the answer is an unqualified
yes.
The United States Supreme Court decided in
McDonald v. City of Chicago,
561 U.S. 742 (2010) and held that the Second Amendment, by virtue
of the Fourteenth Amendment, applies fully to restrict state action to
the same extent that it prohibits federal action. (“In
Heller,
we held that the Second Amendment protects the right to possess a
handgun in the home for the purpose of self-defense. Unless
considerations of
stare decisis counsel otherwise, a provision
of the Bill of Rights that protects a right that is fundamental from an
American perspective applies equally to the Federal Government and the
States. See
Duncan, 391 U. S., at 149, and n. 14. We therefore
hold that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
incorporates the Second Amendment right recognized in
Heller. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings.”)
In
2022, the United States Supreme Court applied the Second and Fourteenth
Amendments to declare unconstitutional New York State’s handgun
permitting law.
New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
Following
Bruen,
Heller and
McDonald, a Tennessee Court of Appeals declared unconstitutional a local government practice in Tennessee that restricted resident firearms possession in government housing. See,
Columbia Housing & Redevelopment Corp. v. Braden, M2021-00329-COA-R3-CV (Oct, 13, 2022.)
More recently, the Attorney General for the State of Tennessee submitted an
agreed order
in a federal civil action that challenged Tennessee’s “scheme” of
prohibiting most 18-20 year olds from being eligible for Tennessee’s
handgun permits and/or to be eligible to carry under the state’s 2021
permitless carry law. In that Agreed Order the State Attorney General
specifically referenced
Bruen and agreed that the state’s
statutory “scheme” violated the Second Amendment, violated the
Fourteenth Amendment and constituted a federal civil rights violation.
There
is no credible basis for anyone, much less an elected or appointed
official who has taken an oath to defend and protect the
constitutionally protected rights of Tennesseans, to ignore or deny how
Bruen
applies to render unconstitutional various Tennessee statutes, rules,
regulations, and other restrictions on the rights protected by the
Second Amendment. Do not tolerate such stonewalling or misconduct by
elected or appointed officials. Know the facts and be willing to stand
up and defend your rights against their official oppression thereof.