House Bill 1735 by Rep. Chris Todd is a bill that would allow all 18-20 year olds who can legally possess a handgun to obtain a Tennessee enhanced handgun permit and/or to rely on the 2021 “permitless carry” law that creates a defense to a criminal charge of carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed. Current Tennessee law allows some 18-20 year olds, those who have military service, to get permits or carry without a permit if conditions are met. However, the State of Tennessee prohibits 18-20 year olds with no military service from exercising those same rights.
That bill was heard on February 22, 2022 in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee. The bill passed out of the committee on a voice vote with Rep. John Clemmons (D) asking to be recorded as voting no. The reason that this is an important event is because of the comments on at least one of the members of that committee – Rep. Brandon Ogles (R).
Below is a recording of Rep. Brandon Ogles’ comments regarding HB 1735 in the House Civil Justice Sub-committee on February 22, 2022.
In his comments, Rep. Ogles states that the legislation brings up issues that the State Legislature needs to deal with such as the “age of adulthood” and that he would prefer that citizens could not vote, drink or drive a car until age 21. He then turned his comments to the text of the 2nd Amendment. He focused on the phrase “well regulated militia”. He states he believes that the Founders intended that there should be regulations (by government) on the 2nd Amendment protected right of the people.
The point to consider is that Rep. Ogles has an incorrect understanding of the phrase “well regulated”. By his words he thinks it means that government can require training by the citizen as a condition to enjoying the right enumerated in the 2nd Amendment. Perhaps he means that the right can be “regulated” to the point of a full restriction or prohibition such as now exists on 18-20 year olds and even on many of those 21 and older with respect to, for example, gun free zones on public properties.
Even though this is not the issue considered in the bill, (age of vesting of Rights is, and the question of military service as a requirement to enjoy that Right in Tennessee is the object of the bill in question), Rep. Ogles takes the opportunity to insert his understanding of the 2nd Amendment at that time, and, when confronted with disagreement from the gallery, he insists his perception is correct.
The phrase “well-regulated” was in common use long before 1789, and remained so for a century thereafter. It referred to the property of something being in proper working order. Something that was well-regulated was calibrated correctly and/or functioning as expected. Establishing government oversight of the people’s arms was not only not the intent in using the phrase in the 2nd amendment, it was precisely to render the government powerless to do so that caused the Founders to write into the Bill of Rights that the right “shall not be infringed”.
The purpose of the phrase “well regulated militia” was noted by Justice Scalia in the Heller decision. In that opinion, Justice Scalia and the majority of the Court agreed on the following statement: “… the adjective “well-regulated” implies nothingmore than the imposition of proper discipline and training.See Johnson 1619 (“Regulate”: “To adjust by rule ormethod”); Rawle 121–122; cf. Va. Declaration of Rights§13 (1776), in 7 Thorpe 3812, 3814 (referring to “a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms”).“
Legislators take an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution. To do so, they must accurately understand it. It is the responsibility of the citizen to instruct their elected representatives per Article 1 Section 23 of the Tennessee Declaration of Rights on matters such as this. It is important for Tennesseans, all Tennesseans who are interested in the preservation and proper understanding of the Constitution, to be aware of and to take action whenever it might appear that a legislator misconstrues, misapplies or presents a clear and present danger to the proper understanding of the 2nd Amendment or other provisions of the Constitution.
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