Tennessee: Several Gun Bills to be Heard in Senate Committee Tomorrow

Tomorrow, the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee will begin to hear numerous pro-gun and anti-gun bills.  It’s imperative that you contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and politely urge them to support pro-gun legislation, and oppose any bills that would further restrict your Second Amendment rights. 

Many PRO-gun bills be will heard this week, including:

Senate Bill 983, sponsored by Senator Dolores Gresham (R-26), would allow a person, who is granted an order of protection and who is not otherwise a prohibited person according to state or federal law, to carry a firearm for 60 days after the initial order of protection is issued. This would allow a person under an order of protection to exercise his or her right to self-defense while allowing time to complete the Tennessee handgun carry permit process.  Individuals who seek out a protective order can be placed in a very dangerous situation and should be provided with the ability to protect themselves when and if necessary.  This legislation could mean the difference between life and death for those individuals.

Senate Bill 445, sponsored by Senator John Stevens (R-24), would create a private cause of action for a party that is adversely affected by a local ordinance, resolution, policy, rule, or other enactment on firearms preempted by state law.  This bill would prohibit local government entities from prohibiting or restricting firearms on state or local property unless certain security conditions are met.  Citizens with no criminal intent should not be placed in jeopardy of running afoul of local restrictions they don`t even know exist simply because they have crossed from one municipality to another.  Gun owners continue to be unduly burdened by local ordinances which violate the current state firearm preemption law.

Senate Bill 386, also sponsored by Senator Green (R-22), would improve Tennessee’s restoration of rights process by permitting the use of certain defenses for a person with a prior felony conviction, whose rights of citizenship have been restored, to reestablish his or her Second Amendment rights.  

Senate Bill 1339, sponsored by Senator Paul Bailey (R-15), would allow a person to possess or carry a firearm, loaded or unloaded, in a recreational vehicle or motorized boat.

The following bills are only a few of the many ANTI-gun bills that will be heard this week:

Senate Bill 670, sponsored by Senator Lee Harris (D-29), would allow the issuance of a temporary order of protection preventing a person to possess a firearm based on a law enforcement officer’s judgement that the person is a danger to another person.  This bill would violate the right to due process of Tennesseans and could potentially be abused by those who don’t agree with an individual’s Second Amendment rights.

Senate Bill 671, sponsored by Senator Lee Harris, would create within the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations a voluntary, "Do Not Sell" firearm registry, making it a criminal offense to transfer a firearm to anyone on the registry.

Senate Bill 1186, sponsored by Senator Sara Kyle (D-30), would require a gun owner to report a lost or stolen firearm within 48 hours.  A gun owner failing to do so would be required to pay a $250 fine.  Individuals who have experienced traumatic events like a burglary or robbery should not be further victimized by the law if they don’t have an immediate inventory of their lost items.

Senate Bill 1097, also sponsored by Senator Sara Kyle, would criminalize the private transfer of a firearm by requiring any sale or transfer to be done through a federally licensed gun dealer with limited exceptions.

Once again, please contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and politely urge them to support pro-gun legislation, and oppose any bill that would further restrict your Second Amendment rights.  Please continue to check www.NRAILA.org and your email inbox for alerts on the latest action items.

Senate Judiciary Committee:

Senator Brian Kelsey, Chair
615-741-3036
[email protected]

Senator Doug Overbey, 1^st Vice-Chair
615-741-0981
[email protected]

Senator Janice Bowling, 2^nd Vice-Chair
615-741-6694
[email protected]

Senator Mike Bell
615-741-1946
[email protected]

Senator Lee Harris
615-741-1767
[email protected]

Senator Sara Kyle
615-741-4167
[email protected]

Senator Jon Lundberg
615-741-5761
[email protected]

Senator Kerry Roberts
615-741-4499
[email protected]

Senator John Stevens
615-741-4576
[email protected]