The Governor's "incremental" permitless carry bill (Senate Bill 765) is
set to be heard on the Senate Floor on March 18. Of the three bills
this year on permitless carry, it is one that is least compliant with
the requirements of the Second Amendment and is the one which
perpetuates the most infringements.
This bill is NOT real constitutional carry.
It has been repeatedly described by legislators as only "kicking the
ball" down the field or as an incremental step. The fact that some
people may be "identifying" it as constitutional carry is not much
different that calling Dr. Richard Levine "Rachel" - saying it is so
does not change the facts. The fact is that it is only an incremental
permitless carry bill and its one that perpetuates and ads infringements
on the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
Specifically, the concerns with it by those who seek REAL constitutional carry are that
1)
It does not apply to everyone who can legally possess a firearm. The
Second Amendment has no age limit when it references "the people".
Falling far short of the Second Amendment's scope, the Governor's bill
only applies to those who are at least 21.
2)
The Governor's bill creates an exception for a class of individuals who
are 18-20 years old and who are in or honorable retired from the
military. Since this legislation addresses a fundamental individual
right, the decision to treat one class of citizens differently than
another raises a likely equal protection problem.
3)
The Second amendment prohibits government infringements of "arms". The
Governor's bill perpetuates the infringement on the right of the people
to carry longarms. It only creates an exception for handguns.
4)
The Governor's bill has a curious provision, which is likely some form
of trap, that conditions the exception to a criminal charge only for
those who are "in a place where the person is lawfully present."
5)
The Governor's bill further restricts at least two classes of
individuals, such as those with certain DUI convictions, which
individuals are not prohibited by state or federal law form possessing
firearms.
6)
The Governor's bill appears to enact a lifetime ban on certain
individuals who have a history of mental illness. To the extent it does
this it likely jeopardizes federal grants under the NICS Improvement
Act of 2007-2008 which required states to enact laws to remove
disabilities on those with certain prior mental health disqualifiers as a
condition of receiving federal grants, which Tennessee enacted in 2015.
The
point is that the Governor's bill is NOT real constitutional carry.
Some could argue its better than only having a permitting system but you
could also argue that taking an incremental step, such as this, both
fails us on the restoration of our rights and it likely delays
significantly the Legislature's willingness to come back and fix the
problems it is creating by passing only an incremental step.
It is important that you call your state Senator today. Look their emails and numbers up on the state website.
Send them this message (in your own words) by phone, letter, fax and email:
1) I oppose the Governor's "permitless carry" bill - Senate Bill 765 - and want you to vote against it unless it is amended.
2) I want it amended so that "any person who can legally own a firearm can carry that firearm"
3) I want the lifetime bans eliminated
4)
I prefer either Senate Bill 318 or Senate Bill 1391 - both of them were
filed a real constitutional carry and are much better bills.
5)
I will be watching your actions on this bill and tell my family and
friends that you either stood with me on the Second Amendment or that
you ignored the Second Amendment and voted for a bill that imposes and
perpetuates infringements on my rights.
Do not let them feed you a deflecting, appeasing rejection. They are elected to represent you - not to be the puppet of someone in leadership or some administrative agency. They are accountable to you under their oath to protect your rights and to do anything in their powers to remove infringements on your rights. Hold them accountable. Don't be rude, but certainly be firm.
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