The Legislature is rapidly moving forward with many of the bills that have been flagged for tracking by Tennessee Firearms Association. All of those bills that have had activity the week of March 8 are covered in the Bill Status Report. All of the bills that we are expecting to be heard in committee or on the floor starting the week of March 15 are in the Calendar Report. There are a few bills of note to be discussed in more detail here.

There are three permitless carry bills pending. One is SB765/HB786 which is referenced as the “Governor’s bill”. The Senate version of bill has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee after a large amendment was added. It is expected to be heard in Senate Finance next week. The House version of the bill was approved this week in the House Criminal Justice full committee after receiving two amendments. The House version is expected to be heard in House Finance this coming week. As previously reported, several of the sponsors or committee members have made statements that indicate a belief that the Governor’s bill is not truly 2nd Amendment compliant nor is it true constitutional carry. It is described as moving the ball down the field, as ‘not everything we want’, as an incremental step, etc., The shortcomings of the bill giving rise to these statements are discussed in prior TFA reports but in general those shortcomings arise because it does not allow anyone who can legally possess a firearm in Tennessee to carry it. It is instead only enabling for those who are 21 years old or more (18 and up if the person is in the military), it is a handgun only bill and thus denies the right to carry relative to longarms and it has a curious provision requiring that the person be “in a place where the person is lawfully present”.

The second permitless carry bill is SB318/HB18. It has not been heard in the Senate yet but it has, like the Governor’s bill, passed favorably through the House Criminal Justice committee and will next be heard in House finance. This bill is much cleaner, it does not have the massive crime package, and it applies to any person who can legally possess a firearm and it allows them to carry any firearm. It also addresses some of Tennessee’s gun free zones with respect to individuals who in the future might rely on permitless carry. This is a better bill. Also, it should be noted that the language of this bill could be easily amended into the Governor’s bill to substantially improve it.

The third bill is SB1391/HB1388. It has not been heard in the Senate at this time but it is set for its first hearing in the House next week. It also comes closer to true constitutional carry by simply deleting the existing statute that makes it a crime to carry a firearm with intent to go armed. The language of this bill could also be amended into the Governor’s bill to substantially improve it.

We are encouraging everyone to call their legislators, to call Bill Lee, to call Speaker Cameron Sexton and to call Lt. Governor Randy McNally to demand that the Legislature pass true constitutional carry and not just an incremental step that only kicks the bill down the field but does not score a goal for the 2nd Amendment. It is critical that these calls are being made and that they are repeatedly made. Specifically reference amending the Governor’s bill to fix the shortcomings by amending it or passing the other two bills.

Other bills which are on notice for next week that you should be making calls on include:

House Bill 899 which is set to be heard in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee on Tuesday March 16 and which would create a cause of action for individuals against government entities that infringe their 2nd Amendment rights.

House Bill 928 which is set to be heard in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee on Tuesday March 16 and which is titled the “Second Amendment Sanctuary Act”. This bill fortunately opens the Tennessee code on this issue but we believe that the bill should be almost entirely rewritten in order to accomplish the goals that other states have led the way on respecting this issue.

House Bill 1388 which is set to be heard in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on Wednesday March 17 is one of the three permitless carry bills. It is better than the Governor’s bill and needs calls to your legislators and committee members for support.

House Bill 25 is set to be heard in the House Civil Justice Committee on Wednesday March 17. It would stay the ability to bring civil actions against individuals who resort to justifiable deadly force at least until any possible criminal investigation or charges are resolved.

Senate Bill 1608 is set to be heard in Senate State and Local Committee on Tuesday March 16 and would limit law enforcement’s ability to enter private property for purposes of placing surveillance equipment without either landowner permission or a court order.