*Gasp* Horrors! Permitless Concealed Carry for Tennessee.
Tennessee lawmakers consider bills lifting Second Amendment restrictions
NASHVILLE, Tenn.–Several bills under consideration in the Tennessee General Assembly aim expanding certain Second Amendment rights.
At the top of the list on Wednesday is HB 2661, a bill which allows a person to carry a handgun in a concealed manner without the need for a concealed carry permit.
Under the bill, a person who legally owns a firearm could conceal carry the weapon, even at parks, venues of higher education, and other areas where concealed carry permit holders are allowed to carry.
Governor Bill Lee has previously supported legislation supporting concealed carry without a permit, stating in February he supported protecting the right of Tennesseans to bear arms.
“The Second Amendment is clear and concise and secures the freedoms of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms,” Lee said. “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.”
Other bills being considered by committees in the Tennessee General Assembly are HB2536, which allows for civil suits to be filed against a person or government which “infringes upon a person’s right to bear arms” and requires the person or entity to “be liable for actual statutory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs.”
HB2298 and HB2102 also pertain to the Second Amendment, although they each focus on the ability of those with concealed handgun carry permits to carry at higher education campuses and public parks in the state.
Of course, they’re ‘wary’. But any crims out there to take on the police aren’t going to care about a piddly permit law anyway.
Law enforcement wary of proposed bill for people to carry a handgun without a permit
……… yesterday, Memphis Police Director Mike Rallings and the Shelby County Crime Commission addressed this bill at the general assembly.
“With masks and guns, it almost would appear to be the wild wild west, and I definitely do not want that Memphis, and I don’t want that for the state of Tennessee,” Rallings said.
Rallings spoke out against a bill that would allow open and concealed carrying of a handgun for people 21 and older without a permit outside their home or personal property.
“Do you think if this legislation is passed that it would endanger the lives of the men and women on your force,” said Representative Bo Mitchell, Nashville.
“Yes,” Rallings said.
The bill passed 16 to 7 and will advance to the house finance committee.
It would also increase the crime of theft of a firearm from a misdemeanor to a felony.