Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
A bill which ensures tenants are guaranteed the same Second Amendment rights as homeowners in Tennessee passed the Senate along party lines on Monday, Feb. 9.
SB0350 by Sen. Bobby Harshbarger (R-Hawkins County-District 4) states that a landlord shall not prohibit a tenant or tenant’s guest from “lawfully possessing, carrying, transporting, or storing a firearm, any part of a firearm, or firearm ammunition” in a tenant’s dwelling unit or premises.
These protections also extend to a tenant’s vehicle in their designated parking area and to any other location controlled by the landlord as necessary to enter or exit the tenant’s residence or vehicle. Additionally, if a landlord violates the provisions in the bill, an affected tenant will have the right to bring a suit against the landlord for actual damages, punitive damages, and recovery of attorney’s fees.
The bill sailed through the committee process, passing 8-1 out of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, and found similar success on the Senate floor Monday afternoon.
During the Senate floor session, objections came from Democrats who protested to the scope of the bill which encompasses both residential and commercial properties and believe landlords should retain the right to restrict the ability of tenants to own or store firearms in their residences.
Democrat Sen. Jeff Yarbro argued, “I have significant hesitation on this just in terms of its restriction on the most fundamental right that there is, which is property rights, or not the most fundamental, though one of the earliest and more fundamental rights is the right to control your property… It gives me great pause to think about being forced into a situation where you have zero ability to control whether there are guns easy to access on your property…
Just granting a blanket right for someone to not be able to control their own property seems problematic. It opens the door for errors and accidents. We know, it’s just a factual matter, you can look at the news and see almost every few weeks there are accidental discharge to firearms where children are killed… At the end of the day, I understand it’s a constitutional right, but so is your right to express yourself, and when you enter a lease into an apartment, a lot of times, the HOA or the apartment owner doesn’t allow you to post political signs. There’s all the time where people enter contracts that limit their rights. The property owner should be allowed to control what happens on their own property, that’s a basic, conservative principle of democratic government for the last several hundred years and I don’t think we should roll it back right now.”
No responses were made to Yarbro’s comments, and Sen. Harshbarger moved the body to a vote. The result was 27-5 in favor of the bill, with all Republicans present voting “Yes” and leaving the 5 “No” votes to the Democrats.
Though it has now cleared the Senate, the House companion bill, HB0469, is still working its way through the Assembly’s other chamber and is scheduled to be heard in the House Business & Utilities Subcommittee on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
To contact members of the subcommittee, use the information below:
Rep.Rusty.Grills@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.karen.camper@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.john.ray.clemmons@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.mark.cochran@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.ga.hardaway@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.justin.lafferty@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.michael.lankford@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.kevin.vaughan@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.Rusty.Grills@capitol.tn.gov; Rep.clark.boyd@capitol.tn.gov; rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov; rep.karen.camper@capitol.tn.gov; rep.john.ray.clemmons@capitol.tn.gov; rep.mark.cochran@capitol.tn.gov; rep.ga.hardaway@capitol.tn.gov; rep.justin.lafferty@capitol.tn.gov; Rep.michael.lankford@capitol.tn.gov; Rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov; rep.kevin.vaughan@capitol.tn.gov
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Thanx, emailed committee, “Please don’t kill this!”