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March 16, 2021
Is Lt. Governor Randy McNally the roadblock to REAL constitutional carry?
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There are 3 permitless carry bills running in the Legislature. Two
provide that any person who can legally possess a firearm can carry it.
The third, commonly known as the “Governor’s bill” (SB765/HB786), has
restrictions that limit the bill to handguns only, to generally those
who are at least 21 years old and to those who are in a place where they
have a right to be. All three are moving in the House but only the
Governor’s bill has seen progress so far in the Senate.
The
Governor’s bill, although sponsored by Senator Jack Johnson, was
presented in the Senate Judiciary committee by Judiciary Chairman Mike
Bell on March 2. Although some references were made in the discussion
to it being “identified” as a constitutional carry bill, comments by two
committee members were clear that it was only an incremental step that
falls short of real constitutional carry. Committee Chairman Senator Mike Bell made comments that suggest the existence of a roadblock without identifying who or what it is. His statements included comments as follows:
“Is it [this bill] everything I may have wanted in a bill that creates permitless carry, no. But it gets the ball further down the field.”“I’m glad we are here and again moving the ball further down the court, we may come back to see how this works in a couple of years and come back and make some changes.”“its been a journey and this bill gets us closer”“This bill is not everything that everyone wanted, but it gets the ball further down the field”
Senator Kerry Roberts also made comments
during the Senate hearing indicating that he did not believe the
Governor’s bill was real constitutional carry. Instead, he described it
as an incremental step in the direction of real constitutional carry.
On March 10, the House version of the Governor’s bill was presented by
Rep. William Lamberth to the House Criminal Justice Committee. In
response to questions from Rep Hardaway regarding whether the bill
covered all firearms or only some firearms. Rep. Lamberth responded
that the bill only covered handguns. He continued on regarding the
bill’s limited scope by explaining that “there is not a distinction
[between handguns and longarms] in the Second Amendment, there is a
distinction in this particular bill, and this is the biggest bite of freedom we can get in one chunk”.
On March 15, Speaker Cameron Sexton was interviewed
by Brian Wilson, a host on 99.7 FM in Nashville. Although Speaker
Sexton described the Governor’s Bill as having a handgun only limit. He
stated it was “one good step in getting us towards true constitutional
carry”. He also said that “this is the first step to get permitless
carry in the state of Tennessee.” He also stated that “this is a great
first step and we have been trying to get this step now for over a
decade.”
Brian
Wilson also asked Speaker Sexton if the problem in passing real
constitutional carry was with the Lt. Governor, Randy McNally. Speaker
Sexton said "I think there is more blockage than just the Lt. Governor"
which suggests that other reports from internal sources which are
indicating that Lt. Governor Randy McNally is the main roadblock on
passage of this legislation may be accurate.
There
are statements from various legislators on the official legislative
histories of this bill that indicate that someone or something is
blocking real constitutional carry. With a Republican super majority in
control of the Legislature, that cannot be the Democrats. It could be
RINOs but it would take a lot of them. But it also could be a few
individuals that hold unusual and perhaps excessive power over the
merits of legislation. Once such person holding that kind of power may
be Lt. Governor Randy McNally.
We
are completely unaware of a single news report, radio interview or even
recorded public statement where Lt. Governor Randy McNally has
indicated that he supports allowing any person who can legally possess a
firearm to carry a firearm. This is, as Brian Wilson noted, an issue
of significant public interest so the question is why are there no clear
public statements by the Lt. Governor?
On
the other hand, we have received reports which suggest that it is
precisely the Lt. Governor who has essentially disenfranchised all
Tennesseans who are presented by other Senators and even House members
by issuing a “behind the curtain” mandate that the Governor’s bill will
not be amended to a real constitutional carry bill. But he has one vote
on the floor of the Senate and there are 32 other senators who took an
oath to represent as a public steward most of the citizens of this
state. Is it right that the power of the office held by one senator
should be allowed to function as an effective and unilaterally exercised
veto of legislation that simply tries to bring Tennessee law in more
faithful compliance with the Second Amendment? Tennessee’s Legislature
was never intended to be controlled by an oligarchy and it should not
be now.
If
even the possibility that the Lt. Governor is a roadblock to real
constitutional carry concerns you, it is important that you take action
now!
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Call your legislators and demand that they pass REAL constitutional
carry. Make sure to tell them that the Governor's bill IS NOT real
constitutional carry and that two problems are it must be for "all
firearms" and it must be for anyone who can legally possess a firearm.
· Call Lt. Governor Randy McNally - ask him why he is blocking real
constitutional carry and who is helping him do it! His phone number in
Nashville is (615) 741-6806, his fax number in Nashville is (615)
253-0285 and his phone number at his office in Oak Ridge is (865)
483-5544. His email is lt.gov.randy.mcnally@capitol.tn.gov
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Executive Director
johnharris@tennesseefirearms.com
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fight to restore our constitutional rights and to fight against politicians who
are willing to sell their votes and your rights to whichever business interest
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