Tennessee Opens Parks, Playgrounds to Guns
Firearms Freedom Act Also Becomes Law Without Governor's Signature
Jun 17, 2009
Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) also let the Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act, which removes firearms made and sold within the state from federal regulation, become law without his signature, saying it was based on “fringe constitutional theory” and wouldn’t stand judicial scrutiny.
The two laws follow passage of a bill over the governor's veto allowing concealed weapon permit holders to carry their firearms into establishments that serve alcohol.
Concealed Carry in Public Parks a “Concern”
In a letter to House Speaker Kent Williams (R-Elizabethton), Bredesen said he had signed the bill despite efforts to amend the bill to exclude local playgrounds in some urban areas.
“Nonetheless, I continue to have concerns about the inclusion of local parks in this bill,” Bredesen said. “I do want to urge local governments to use the opt-out provisions of this bill to remove parks from its effect where they are located near schools or other places where large numbers of children gather.”
Although it is not due to take effect until Sept. 1, Nashville and Memphis have already taken steps to ban guns in local parks.
Firearms Freedom Act Becomes Law
The Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act, similar to a law recently passed in Montana, exempts firearms manufactured in Tennessee and sold within the state from federal regulation.
Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on a Fox News Channel report that the act was a push-back against federal attacks on state sovereignty.
“We see everyday all the mandates that the federal government sends down to our states and in this case they are trying to regulate our intrastate commerce,” Beavers said. “This law says that guns, ammunition that are manufactured in Tennessee, stamped made in Tennessee, the federal government has no right to regulate that in any form or fashion.”
On the same program, a constitutional law expert said the bill would not stand a court challenge because of the weight of judicial precedent established since the Constitution was enacted.
Tennessee Firearms Association Defends Second Amendment Right to Rebel
A June 6 post on the Tennessee Firearms Association’s Web site by John Harris, executive director of the organization, said that “this is the year for the Tennessee Firearms Association in the Tennessee Legislature” because “we are seeing many issues which we have worked on for as much as 15 years become law.”
“However, this is just the swing of the pendulum as we still see much opposition from organizations such as the Tennessee Chiefs of Police Association and opposition from elected officials,” the post continued.
The post said that firearms advocates should ask political candidates in the 2010 elections cycle whether they support the view that the 2nd Amendment refers to “the right that the Founding Fathers relied upon when they took up arms against English rule? A political right of the citizens to ultimately control and if appropriate abolish an existing and typically out of control government?”
