April 20, 2023
Tennessee Democrat last minute proposal for a Red Flag law
On April 20, 2023, Tennessee Firearms Association received a “leaked”
draft of a Red Flag law which information indicates is likely being
offered by Tennessee Democrats since it seeks to amend House Bill 1233
Senate Bill 1029 which has Democrat sponsors in the House and Senate.
Of particular concern, however, is that House Republican Caucus Chairman
Jeremy Faison. Since a high ranking House Republican leader is a
sponsor on the bill, it must be considered whether this is a second
attempt by Governor Bill Lee to get a Red Flag law to the floor. ( A copy of the amendment is on the TFA's News Post)
The bill was placed on hold in the House on April 4, 2023. Shortly after than, Rep. Faison signed on as a sponsor
and indicated that he was working with the Democrat sponsor on this
bill, a gun control bill. Again, since the proposed Red Flag amendment
does not indicate which Legislators requested or drafted it, we don’t
know whether Rep. Faison is supporting or opposing this Red Flag law –
all we know is he is a sponsor on the bill that would be amended to
carry it. Also on April 4, 2023, the Senate version of the
bill was reset for January 2024. However, on April 5, 2023, a motion was
filed to bypass the Senate Judiciary deferral and to bring the bill
directly to the Senate floor. That motion so far does not appear to
have been heard. The Democrat Red Flag law proposal may actually
be worse than that openly proposed by Governor Bill Lee. However,
which one is worse should be merely an academic question since both are
clear violations of the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms as
protected by the Second Amendment. Neither bill proposal makes any
effort to meet the constitutional threshold requirements established by
the United States Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022).
The Bruen decision created a constitutional threshold
against which any proposed government regulation must be measured. It
prohibits any proposed government infringements on the rights protected
by the Second Amendment unless certain conditions are shown to exist by
the government proponent. The Court stated that the Constitution
guarantees individuals not only the right to “keep” firearms in their
homes, but also the right to “bear arms” in public, meaning the ability
of “ordinary, law-abiding citizens” to carry constitutionally protected
arms “for self-defense outside the home,” free from infringement by
either federal or state governments. Id. at 2122, 2134.
The
Court held that, “when the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an
individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that
conduct. To justify its regulation, the government may not simply posit
that the regulation promotes an important interest. Rather, the
government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this
Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Only if a firearm
regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition may a
court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second
Amendment’s ‘unqualified command.’” Bruen at 2126.
The
Court stated that the only appropriate inquiry would be what the
“public understanding of the right to keep and bear arms” was during the
ratification of the Second Amendment in 1791. Bruen at 2137–38.
These
two Red Flag proposals clearly violate the Court’s threshold mandate.
Nothing on the face of the bills suggests any effort was made to
recognize or meet that Constitutional requirement. No supporting
preamble or memorandum has been issued to address those constitutional
requirements.
The continued shenanigans to push through and
enact a Red Flag law in the rush and confusion that exists when the
Legislature suspends all of its rules should be condemned – particularly
when the subject of such legislation is the intentional deprivation of a
constitutionally protected right. Contact Your Legislators!
It is critical that 2nd Amendment advocates, advocates for constitutional rights, "let them feel the heat" as President Reagan taught. When Tennessee's own Lt. Governor, Randy McNally, calls for a Red Flag law, a clearly unconstitutional proposal, it is time to make him and any other Legislators or members of Bill Lee's administration "feel the heat".
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