There are several bills at various stages in the General Assembly which are on notice for hearings this week. These include the proposal to create a “concealed only” permit which will cost the taxpayers about $1 million per year and will rename the existing permit as an “enhanced” permit. Significantly, the “amended” fiscal note dated…
TFA Bill Status and Calendar Reports – February 22, 2019
The bill status report for February 22, 2019, does not list all of the bills which have been identified for tracking. Instead, it lists only those bills which have had “activity” during the period from February 18 through March 1. There are a few bills to note: SB446/HB187 is the Second Amendment Civil Rights Act…
Tennessee Firearms Association joins in supporting brief with United States Supreme Court alleging NFA is unconstitutional.
The Tennessee Firearms Association has joined in an “amicus brief”, commonly called a “friend of the court” brief, in a federal case brought by Jeremy Kettler and supported by the Gun Owners of America, through its legal arm, the Gun Owners Foundation, which seeks a ruling by the United States Supreme Court that the National…
TFA is tracking 66 new bills in 2019 in Tennessee Legislature – but not “constitutional carry”
Legislators, their staff and “interested parties” have been busy writing a lot of bills for 2019 – approximately 2,000 so far. Of those, TFA has identified approximately 66 that it is tracking based on content or captions of the original bills. It is important to understand that the language that is in a bill or…
Chairman Micah Van Huss alerts other legislators to “deep state” administrative operatives offering assistance to derail legislation.
Over the years, the Tennessee Firearms Association has repeatedly investigated situations where administration officials (mainly from the Department of Safety) have issued information regarding the budget impact of legislation that appeared clearly designed to kill the legislation rather than to candidly assess the true fiscal impact of the legislation. An example of this is a…
Tennessee’s Firearms Owners better be prepared as Bill Lee starts next week as Tennessee’s next “Establishment” Governor.
In 2010, Bill Haslam promised Tennesseans and specifically members of the Tennessee Firearms Association that he would sign constitutional carry if that legislation was put on his desk. He then worked hard it appears to make sure that his loyal minions in the Legislature never allowed him to be held accountable to that promise. A…
Can Gun Owners Expect Constitutional Carry from Bill Lee?
Can gun owners expect Constitutional Carry from Bill Lee?In just a few weeks, Bill Lee will become governor as the Haslam error ends. Haslam had promised Tennessee voters in 2010 when he first ran for governor that he would sign constitutional carry legislation. At least, it was a suggestion that he would support it. After…
ATF violates Separation of Powers doctrine with new “Bumpstock” regulation
The BATF on December 18, 2018, issued a rule change that resulted from emotion and political posturing – rather than fact. It ignored the definition in the National Firearms Act that Congress made and has tried it best to make a “square peg fit a round hole” by twisting and contorting words despite the laws…
“Red Flag” Laws – Should Constitutional Rights be subject to “low threshold” infringements?
A “red flag law” may just be the newest euphemism for “reasonable gun control”. In general, a “red flag law” is some type of state law (although it could at some point be federal) which allows the state to take firearms away from an individual and/or to deny that individual the ability to purchase a…
It is time to demand that the Republicans close the primaries in Tennessee
We have finished the 2018 election cycle and we see hints of who the leadership will be in the state legislature during 2019 and 2020. The fact is that these indicators tell us that passing constitutional carry and reducing the number of gun free zones in Tennessee will not be any easier in the next…