macville

I gotta ask...what the heck is the "lunging area inside the car"? And how do you "frisk" that? Do you mean scanning (looking through the window) into the passenger compartment? Matthew

I don't know how Congress would word it so they could restrict such sales since it doesn't go across state lines. In fact, I am 100% sure if they could figure out a way to restrict such sales they would have already. Of course, they have already violated the 2d amendment by restrictions on full auto guns and other federal gun laws. Kinda like they forgot what "the right to keep and bare arms shall not be infringed" actually meant. Matthew

Went to Big Ed's pizza in Oak Ridge tonight (the pizza is wonderful!) and was concerned that it might be a posted restaurant because there are some batty people in Oak Ridge and they serve beer. They WERE NOT posted and I soon realized why. On there walls they have a huge Glock sign over the door, more Marines stuff than you can shake a stick at, and plenty of awards to shooting teams. So big prop's to Big Eds seeming to be VERY gun friendly! Matthew

Umm... while the dealer may have broken the law, didn't the people buying the gun also break the law since they went through with the purchase? Was this video of one of Bloomberg's goons or was it an LEO sting? Matthew

Yeah, I know he is 100% on our side. That's why I am meeting with him because I know he will support the changes I bring to him and try to get them into law. I will try and make a summary before I meet with him so we are all on the same page. Keep the ideas coming! Matthew

Uhhh, where have you been? That news is over a week old. Matthew

Unless they were midgets, I would consider two regular sized MALE (unless they were larger, rougher looking women) a threat that could possibly leave me unconscious or with impairment of my body. Of course, if it was a slower attack building up, I would probably just draw my gun and have it down by my side. If that doesn't ward off the attack, then it becomes obvious that they are not afraid of a firearm and that they are willing to do whatever they want to me. Of course, every situation is different. You have to take into account the amount of people attacking, the size of them, if they have weapons, were they verbally threatening you, etc. I do know that if you are attacked, approached, etc. by someone always call it in. You don't want to have just pulled up your shirt revealing your gun, they stop, and then they call it in that they were threatened when in reality you were. First one to call is more likely to be the good guy (sadly enough.) Matthew

That's one of the things I will be talking to my state rep about next week. The wording, size of sign, and placement should be uniform for all legal purposes. Matthew

What does the word "keep" mean then? Matthew

Yes, I totally agree, but come up with changes to the law that we might be able to actually get passed. Our freedoms have been eroded by a bunch of small changes. While I would love to do it in one big swoop, I think we can do it by even 10 small bills that go more unnoticed then 1 bill that removes the permits and allows total legal carry anywhere. Still open for any suggestions on what to address. Matthew

Hey guys, I have set up a meeting with my state Rep Ryan Haynes next week to talk about putting forth changes to our current laws to clear up matters that surfaced thanks to the new parks and restaurant law. This is what I have come up with so far and what your all's input on what might need to be added. 1. Add a defense to the "defense to going armed" section that if a sign is not properly posted (aka: cities opt-ing out of parks but not posted, schools not posting like they are supposed to, businesses not posting the "proper" sign, etc) that someone with a HCP can not be charged with anything if caught carrying there. That should fix the whole parks issue, and make it clear that if you are required by law to post, or chose to post, you MUST post and MUST post the correct sign. 2. Change the posting notice (39-17-1359) and remove "substantially similar" from the law and require that it is the exact sign and it either says "...THE OWNER/OPERATOR OF THIS BUILDING HAS BANNED WEAPONS" or "...THE OWNER/OPERATOR OF THIS PROPERTY HAS BANNED WEAPONS..." depending wither weapons are banned on the property or only in the building. Also add that the sign MUST include the gun/circle-slash symbol. 3. Remove the restriction on private k-12 schools and colleges about allowing carry. It's PRIVATE for a reason and as far as I can tell, they are the only private business/non-profit that are still restricted under the law since you can now carry into restaurants that serve alcohol. If a private school wants to ban carry, then they simply post like any other business. Of course, if we were to get #1 passed, it wouldn't really matter because if the school didn't post, they wouldn't be able to charge you! Any other suggestions? Matthew

Does anyone find anything wrong about this: The MAYOR is also serving on the City Council with voting power???? Talk about not right! Matthew

It's been legal in Knox County parks since Sept 1st. Heck, I went and played Frisbee Golf in west knox Sunday afternoon. Now that's a park you need to carry a gun in! The high school student from my church that I went to play with said that when he saw the gun on my side he was very happy because there tends to be a very rough crowd that hangs out there (if the amount of beer caps on the ground is a sign of anything!) Matthew

Here's a little good news for you guys. I am meeting with my state Rep Ryan Haynes sometime in the next two weeks to talk about how we can fix this problem among other carry issues with the law. Hopefully, we can figure out how to have the law re-written to fix this crap. Matthew

Well, if you take the law as clear black and white English when you consider the word "use", then yes. That's why the law needs to be changed so you can carry any any school! At the very minimum, the law needs to have "used" removed. Therefore, you could only not carry on school grounds. Matthew

What Wal-Mart? I've never seen a wal-mart that had ANY kind of posting against guns. Matthew

BTW, if you take the class, I bet you'll start carrying. It's a nice feeling to know that you are carrying a tool that won't give you an advantage in every situation, it will at least give you a better chance in some situations. And personally, I will take a better chance in any situation than no chance! Matthew

A lot of people I talk to tell me the exact same thing. They don't feel like they are in danger. So here's what I ask them when they tell me that. Do you feel safe? Yes.... Well, "feeling" safe doesn't really matter. It only matters if you are ACTUALLY safe. Since you don't chose the time/place to be robbed/raped/assaulted/murdered/etc, you can never be truly "safe." Let's put it this way. I live in the smack dab middle of west Knoxville. When you look at the crime reports, it's the safest place to live in Knox county. However, just in the last week a KFC about 2 miles from my house was robbed. The Pizza Hut just over the hill, next to my church, was robbed at gun point (while my wife drive by 50 yards away). The perkins just down the street from the PH was robbed earlier this year, and so far about 6 banks in west knox have been robbed. Not to mention my neighbor's house was robbed between 6:30-7 AM on a VERY busy street--hard to believe someone didn't notice them walking out with a 50" TV. YOU AREN'T SAFE no matter what you think. I know that's a scary thought, but it's simply true. That's why it really irks me when someone says they don't understand why I would ever need a gun if I don't go into the "bad" parts of town. Crime happens EVERYWHERE! Yes, it may happen more often on the other side of town, but it still happens here. We never dreamed that something like the church shooting would happen here in Knoxville, but it did. The sooner you, and other people, realize that anything can happen to anyone at anytime, the easier it will be to get law abiding citizens to carry guns. Matthew

Our right to bear arms DOES exist. Unfortunately, our Federal Government has been FAR too busy spending our money over the last 80 years instead of telling the states that gun bans/carry permits/etc are unconstitutional. But I guess we shouldn't expect much out of them since they have done bans on firearms that are unconstitutional. When you consider the Federalist papers, and quotes from some of the founders of the country, you can not take the right to bear arms any other way. John Adams: "Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion in private self defense." (A defense of the Constitution of the US) George Washington: "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the people's liberty teeth (and) keystone... the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable... more than 99% of them [guns] by their silence indicate that they are in safe and sane hands. The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference [crime]. When firearms go, all goes, we need them every hour." (Address to 1st session of Congress) Thomas Jefferson: "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." (T. Jefferson papers, 334, C.J. Boyd, Ed. 1950) And here's the the best quote: James Madison: "Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the people of other countries, whose people are afraid to trust them with arms." (Federalist Paper #46) Considering that James Madison wrote the original 2d amendment I think he probably has the best idea about what it was supposed to mean. In fact, ALL the versions that were considered contained, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed". I think that point is VERY important. It's time to stand up and tell both the state and the feds that the 2d means EXACTLY what it says. We are tired of it being infringed! Matthew Matthew

Well, considering that the AG just said that local government don't have post a sign for park carry to be illegal, it seems like you could be arrested for carrying past a non-legal sign because a sign doesn't even matter! Some heads need to roll in Nashville and my blood pressure needs to come down. Matthew

No, WE DO ABSOLUTELY have a right to keep and bear arms. It's there in the Constitution. However, the enforcement of that right has been thrown aside. You've got to remember that just because we have a right doesn't mean that right will be able to be exercised. But it IS a right. We just haven't been able to exercise it the last 80 years way we are supposed to. I noticed that you haven't stopped saying the 4th is a right even though LEO's violate it every day? Just because it gets violated (which the decision in Heller proved) doesn't mean it's not still a right. BTW, I totally understand what you are saying. The un-constitutional system has been set up to make it a privileged. But I don't want to further the myth that it's only a privilege. Maybe we should start referring to a carry permit as the un-constitutional handgun carry permit. Because that is FAR more accurate than just HCP. Matthew

Okay, so had a thought about this issue this morning. The AG says even thought the law REQUIRES signs to be posted if a county has opted-out, if they don't post, you can still be charged if caught carrying in one of the opted-out parks. So let's think about this... does this mean that if a city decides that the speed limit on a street should only be 25 mph, but doesn't post a sign with that limit that any cop which finds me going over 25 mph can stop and give me a ticket? Even though speed limits are different on every road? Does it mean that if someone doesn't post a legal sign (doesn't post anything period), but in their "mind" has decided that it's illegal to carry in their store, does that mean that you could be charged under going armed because they decided that it was "illegal" but did not follow the law and post like they legally are supposed to? Do you see the problem here? It the AG saying that WE have to follow the law but THE GOVERNMENT doesn't have to follow what IT passed. My question now is, how can we sue about this? I believe that it is illegal for a resolution to be on the books that doesn't fully follow the law. Hopefully a lawsuit would lead to a change in the law that postings for businesses, schools, parks, etc have to be exactly in accordance with the law, or otherwise we can't be charged when carrying there. I AM SICK of being the bad guy and trying to follow the law when the government that writes the law won't follow it. Matthew

It seems like 99% of the stories I read about bank robberies, the robber doesn't even show a gun. Even in this case of the Alcoa robbery, it looks like the lady was discrete about showing the gun. I think if I had been at the next window I probably wouldn't have noticed it (although, who really knows!) Hollywood has spread this myth that robbers come in firing a round into the ceiling to get people's attention, but that just doesn't seem to ever happen. Even just coming in an announcing that it's a robbery doesn't happen. It's always a note saying that they've got a gun/bomb and want money. Matthew

Everyone talks about "tactical" advantage and how the BG will ALWAYS see that you have a gun if you are open carrying. To be honest, when I've open carried, most people I am around have never noticed the gun until a few minutes after I have been there. And yes, I do notice when they notice because there is always a comment (this is when I am around friends, not out at a store.) But why do they not notice the gun right away? Because often my right side will be turned away from them or other factors will actually conceal the gun to THEM even though it is right out in the open. The same thing will, most likely, happen to a robber if they come into the gas station/bank/store you are in. First, they have to be at the right angle to see your gun. Second, something else can't be hiding it (like a stand of little debbie cakes). Thirdly, they have to actually take the time to notice! I would imagine that robbing a store tends to put a lot of adrenaline into the system. They get focused on the goal, AKA: MONEY, and are not as observant as they should be (see: snopes.com: Gun Shop Robber ) Here's another thought. Do you think a robber would enter a place where he saw 2-3 people open carrying? (that may be a trick question considering the link above!) In my brain, a criminal is going to do what a criminal wants to do CC or OC. There have been no reported cases that I can find where a criminal shot an OC'er first. But I have seen many reports where a criminal seemed to change their mind when they did see a gun. If all people who carried guns OC'ed, I believe we might see a drop in crime, not just because the guns are a warning sign, but that more people might carry because they realize that it's legal to carry and normal people do it. Also, I don't like CC because it's uncomfortable to me (although I CC 95% of the time.) Matthew

Well, didn't Ramsey help push through the restaurant bill after Bredesen vetoed it? That says something powerful to me. Matthew