TN Legislature Moving Fast On 2nd Amendment Bills

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By John Harris [Tennessee Firearms Association] –

The Legislature is moving a lot of bills right now and seems to be working toward wrapping up business by perhaps the end of April.   There are many bills that are on notice to be heard next week.  All of these bills are listed HERE.

Here is what TFA is asking you to do:

1) Call your House and Senate members.  Ask them to SUPPORT bills that we support.  Some of these bills are highlighted in this message and others are listed in the attached PDF.  To do that they should a) tell the bill sponsors that they want the legislation passed and b) sign on as co-sponsors.  Follow up with phone calls every day or so to make sure they do it.  

If it is a bill we are recommending to OPPOSE – call your members and insist that they contact both the sponsors and the committee members to demand that the bill be stopped.   If you don’t know who your legislators are, you can look it up on the state website.  Email addresses for committee members are included in the calendar report HERE.

2) Contact by phone and email the members of the committee which are to hear these bills.  You don’t have to leave a long message or debate with them.  Simply state that you are a concerned Tennessee citizen and TFA member.  Tell them you SUPPORT (and want the bill passed into law) or you OPPOSE (and want the bill killed).   Keep track of who you talk to and what their responses were.

3) Go to the TFA Facebook page and share not only your efforts but also the responses you received.  Let’s support those legislators who do the right things and let’s REPLACE and EXPOSE the ones who do not.

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SUPPORT:

HB2521 by Rep. J. Sexton is set for Tuesday in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee at 9:00am. This bill will substantially improve Tennessee’s “posting” laws.  You can be assured that Bill Lee’s administration hates this legislation because the “fiscal note” is projecting it would cost the state government about $70 million a year to continue to impose non-statutory “gun free” zones like Bill Lee has done with the state capitol.

HB2554 by Rep. Hurt is set for Tuesday in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee at 9:00am.  Current law allows off duty law enforcement to carry in certain places that enhanced permit holders are not allowed to carry.  This bill would allow enhanced permit holders to carry in the same locations that off duty officers are allowed under this statute to carry.   

SB2638 by Sen. Niceley is set for Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 1:00pm.  It would clarify the definition of deadly force to exclude situations where force is used to make a citizen’s arrest. See also HB2323.

SB2698 by Sen. Bowling is set for Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 1:00pm.  It would make those who elect to create “gun free” zones responsible for the safety of those entering the property. 

HB2524 by Rep. J. Sexton is set for Wednesday at 9:00am in the House Criminal Justice subcommittee.  It removes the offense of carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed.  If enacted, this is a major step toward true constitutional carry.

HB2323 by Rep. Grills is set for Wednesday at 9:00am in the House Criminal Justice subcommittee.  It would clarify the definition of deadly force to exclude situations where force is used to make a citizen’s arrest. See also SB2638.

OPPOSE:

HB2599 by Rep. McKenzie is set for Tuesday in the House Health Subcommittee at 12:00 pm.  This bill would treat “gun violence” as a public health issue and require state funds to be expended to create reports designed to support future gun control legislation in Tennessee.

SB1773 by Sen. Gilmore is set for Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 1:00 p.m.  and would have the Department of Health treat “gun violence” as a health issue which is typically a predecessor move in a gun control agenda.

HB1830 by Rep. Parkinson is set for Wednesday in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee at 9:00 a.m.  and would have the Department of Health treat “gun violence” as a health issue which is typically a predecessor move in a gun control agenda.

The “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” theme music is playing …

Most of the good 2nd Amendment legislation was assigned this year to either the House Criminal Justice Committee or the House Civil Justice Committee.  In the Senate, the bills all appear to be assigned to Senate Judiciary.

We are noticing a distinct “fatality” trend between the two House committees – both of which are appointed by Speaker Sexton.  Those bills which are going through the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Clay Doggett, seem to have a much better chance of receiving positive debate, discussion and votes to keep them moving forward.  Most of the ones which are being assigned to the House Civil Justice Subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Lowell Russell, have a much greater chance of dying in that committee. 

Members of the House Civil Justice Committee who seem to be exhibiting a pattern of less than solid support for the 2nd Amendment include Rep. Andy Farmer, Rep. Johnny Garrett, Rep. Michael Curcio and on some bills Rep. Brandon Ogles (see recent video clip).  Now, that is not to say that there are not some problem legislators in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, there clearly are and some of the same ones are in both committees, but the “fatality rate” in the committee overseen by Rep. Lowell Russell is greater than in the other committee. 

This is an election year.  It will be interesting to see how many 2nd Amendment “squishy” legislators are retiring or have strong challengers.   If you know of a poorly performing legislator on 2nd Amendment issues that is retiring or is being challenged by a strong challenger, let us know and share that information on our Facebook page because we need to make every effort to get rid of the “squish” and replace it with stewards.

Also, those of you who are in Speaker Sexton’s district or have contact with him, please spend some time talking with him about committee assignments that might arise should he be Speaker again in 2023-2024.  We don’t need some of these legislators back in positions where they can do harm on 2nd Amendment issues.

About the Author: John Harris is the Executive Director of The Tennessee Firearms Association. You can contact TFA here. You can join TFA here.