Does Bill Lee truly support the Second Amendment?

On February 27, 2020, Governor Bill Lee announced that “he” was proposing legislation to enact constitutional carry in Tennessee. He did introduce legislation. It was not constitutional carry (Tennessee does not have constitutional carry even today). There is no clear evidence midway through his second term that he has actually ever supported the true effect of the Second Amendment’s mandate against governments that the right of citizens protected thereunder “shall not be infringed.”

In his 2020 press release, he stated:

Today, Gov. Bill Lee announced that he is proposing legislation to advance the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Tennesseans by implementing a Constitutional Carry law.  

“The Second Amendment is clear and concise and secures the freedoms of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms,” said Gov. Bill Lee. “I am pleased to announce Constitutional Carry legislation today that will protect the Second Amendment rights of Tennesseans, while also stiffening penalties on criminals who steal or illegally possess firearms. I appreciate Lt. Governor McNally and Speaker Sexton for helping to lead the way on this important issue.”

Press Release

Of course, under the separation of powers doctrine, the Governor is in charge of the administrative branch and has no constitutional authority to introduce legislation although he can request that legislators do so for him. Accordingly, the two Legislators, Senator Jack Johnson and Rep. William Lamberth, who would later file the legislation for the Governor’s proposed “constitutional carry” legislation were also quoted in the press release:

“I applaud Governor Lee’s commitment to Tennesseans’ Second Amendment rights guaranteed by our U.S. and state constitutions. This proposal will reduce barriers to ensure citizens have the ability to protect themselves and their families, while imposing stiffer penalties against criminals who possess guns illegally,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson.

“This constitutional carry package is historic because not only does it uphold the freedoms granted to us by our nation’s founding fathers, it also imposes mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines on bad guys who illegally obtain or use handguns,” said House Majority Leader William Lamberth. “I want to thank the National Rifle Association for their work over the years in making today a reality, and I look forward to working with Governor Lee, as well as my House and Senate colleagues to get Constitutional Carry passed in Tennessee.”

Press Release

As things would develop, the proposed legislation did not pass until 2021 and Governor Lee announced on his X account that he signed it into law on April 8, 2021.

Even as of today, Tennessee does not have constitutional carry. What Lee, Johnson and Lamberth passed in 2021 was predominately a “crime bill” with a $20 million dollar annual cost to tax payers. Obviously, allowing citizens to exercise a constitutionally protected right should not cost $20 million a year in taxpayer funds.

But is Bill Lee (or for that matter Jack Johnson or William Lamberth) truly in support of real constitutional carry? Certainly the evidence suggests no.

First, real constitutional carry simply means a situation where is it simply not a crime to carry a firearm, any firearm, for any lawful purpose. Tennessee does not have that. In Tennessee, it is a crime to carry any firearm “with the intent to go armed” anywhere in the state – including in your own home or on your own property. (Compare, Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1307(a) with § 39-17-1308). Even the handgun permits or the permitless carry law from 2021 are written in such a way that they are affirmative defenses which the citizen must demonstrate. Thus, all possess of a firearm in Tennessee “with the intent to go armed” is a crime and the citizen is only provided a defense, in many instances an affirmative defense, which the citizen bears the burden of demonstrating that their possession of a firearm (the crime) was justified or excused. Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1308.

Of course, that is an easy statutory fix to move Tennessee from its current constitutional cesspool to real constitutional carry but Bill Lee, Bill Haslam nor the Republican controlled Legislature have shown any willingness to do so since at least 2010 when the Republicans got complete control of state government.

But is there another way to achieve constitutional carry other than by legislation? Yes, there is! The courts can do it but that requires all of the “sausage making” that is so common with constitutional litigation where the state is defended by the Attorney General with an unlimited budget fighting against (rather than for) the citizen’s constitutional rights.

In February 2023, a group of Tennesseans were joined by Gun Owners of America, acting on behalf of its members in and outside of Tennessee, sued Bill Lee in his capacity as governor and Jonathan Skrmetti, in his capacity as attorney general. These citizens sued claiming that two Tennessee statutes were unconstitutional under the State Constitution (Article I, Section 26) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Heller, McDonald and Bruen. The two statutes that are being challenged are Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1311 which makes it a crime for an individual to possess a firearm in parks, on greenways, in forest, in public campgrounds, and generally in any public recreational area (there is a defense in the statute that is only for permit holders and only if they possess a handgun). The other challenged statute is Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1307 which makes it a crime to carry anywhere in the state with the “intent to go armed.” A copy of the amended complaint is attached below.

Now, if Defendants Lee and/or Skrmetti believed that these statutes were in fact unconstitutional, they could have entered immediately into settlement discussions – but they did not. They played the “deny, delay” games by asserting that they were not even the proper defendants (an issue which the trial court rejected – a copy of the order is attached below). Then, they opposed the plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief – again dragging the case out and with no settlement discussions.

In October 2024, the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment. A copy is attached below. In that motion, the plaintiffs argued that as a matter of law these two statutes violate the Tennessee Constitution as limited by the Second Amendment (see the McDonald ruling in 2010 by the US Supreme Court). At this time, the Governor and the Attorney General are required to respond to the motion for summary judgment. One possible response is for those two public officials, both of whom took the oath of office “to support the Constitution of this State, and of the United States, and an oath of office…” Tennessee Constitution, Article X, Section1, is to entered into a settlement or agreed order in which they bind the state to a determination that these statutes violate the constitutions. So far they have not done that. Another option is that they will assert that the infringements imposed by these statutes are constitutional and that they should continue to limit the rights of Tennesseans.

Bill Lee’s failure in six years to propose and support legislation to enact real constitutional carry in Tennessee speaks volumes. His, and the Attorney General’s, defense of these statutes rather than entering into an agreed order relative to the application of the constitutional limits, particularly after the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, also reveals a great deal about whether those in control of Tennessee’s laws truly embrace the rights protected by Article 1, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution and the Second Amendment’s mandate against government infringement.

If you would like to support these individuals who are fighting the constitutional battle in Tennessee, you can consider donating to the Tennessee Firearms Foundation, Inc. Equally important, you can share this information with those candidates seeking your votes in November’s elections as well as share it to your friends, family and social media contacts. Building awareness is building for success.

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