The Tennessee Attorney General issued an opinion (AG 19-19) on October 9, 2019, in which the AG concluded that “…the prohibitions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307 on the possession of firearms by individuals convicted of felonies and certain misdemeanors still apply to the possession of antique firearms…” no longer apply after the passage of Public Chapter 279 which became effective on May 2, 2019.
Many Tennesseans who have felony convictions or other firearms disqualifications may have thought prior to May 2, 2019, that they could possess and use black powder weapons to, for example, hunt. However, prior Tennessee Attorney General opinions have concluded that doing so was likely a felony under Tennessee law.
The Attorney General noted in its October 2019 opinion, “[b]efore the effective date of Public Chapter 279,Tennessee law-unlike federal law — did not distinguish between antique firearms and firearms more generally. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(11) (2018); contrast l8 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) (defining “firearm” and providing that the term “does not include an antique firearm”). Accordingly, this Office concluded in previous opinions that the state law prohibitions against possession of firearms applied to possession of antique firearms as well. See Tenn. Att’y Gen. Op. 15-75 (Nov. 9, 2015) (“As a general rule, a person who has been convicted of a felony may not possess any antique, black powder, or any other type of firearm unless his firearm rights have been completely restored.”); ….”
The Attorney General concluded “[i]n sum, as a result of the passage of Public Chapter 279,the prohibitions in § 39-11-1307 on the possession of firearms and handguns by individuals convicted of felonies and certain misdemeanors no longer apply to antique firearms.”
This change in the law was pushed for by the Tennessee Firearms Association as part of its continuing efforts to make the laws in Tennessee clear, minimally applicable and subject to constitutional limits.
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