Tennessee is often thought of as a great state for gun owners. It is not. For more than 2 centuries, indeed since its very birth as a state, Tennessee has had statutory schemes that were “uniquely severe” as noted by the United States Supreme Court in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 S.Ct. at 2148.
Current Tennessee law makes it a crime for anyone to carry a firearm “with the intent to go armed.” That crime occurs even if you are on your own property. What Tennessee’s warped scheme does is that it creates a number of statutory affirmative defenses that you can raise to defend yourself if stopped by an officer (e.g., “I have a valid permit”) or if you are charged with the crime.
That unconstitutional scheme can be stopped by enacting REAL constitutional carry. That would be a change in the law where it is simply not a crime for someone to carry a firearm for lawful purposes, such as self-defense.
There are bills pending in Tennessee this year that would do that or come much closer to that. One is HB1005 by Rep. Rusty Grills (the Senate companion is SB1503 by Sen. John Stevens).
But similar bills have been filed in the past and have been stopped by the majority in the House or Senate. You can get involved to help apply the pressure to pass bills like this one this year. Join TFA, become a member donor, encourage others to get involved, contact your legislators. You can start today by taking action using the letter writing tool on this page!