Worriedman

The House seems to be at least considering closing down non-LE access to the HCP database, as evidenced by the number of Prime co-sponsors who have signed on to Lambert's initiative:  (Watson, Lundberg, Durham, Evans, Weaver, Johnson C, Rogers, Womick, Eldridge, Tidwell, Spivey, Carr J, Goins, Doss, Van Huss, Shipley, Kane, Carter, Travis, Lollar, Todd, Forgety, McDaniel, Moody, Hill T,  and Towns). Curiously absent is a single co-sponsor in the Senate, wonder whose direction that is falling underneath? Seems like a good bill to me, and could cure some problems with other situations. HOUSE BILL 9 By Lamberth   AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-504 and Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13, relative to confidential records. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE: SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-504, is amended by adding the following new subsection: (o) (1) The following information and records are confidential, not open or available for public inspection and shall not be released in any manner: (A) All information contained in any application for a handgun carry permit issued pursuant to § 39-17-1351, a permit renewal application, or contained in any materials required to be submitted in order to obtain such a permit; [B] All information provided to any state or federal agency, to any county, municipality, or other political subdivision, to any official, agent, or employee of any state or federal agency, or obtained by any state or federal agency in the course of its investigation of an applicant for a handgun carry permit; and(C) Any and all records maintained relative to an application for a handgun carry permit issued pursuant to § 39-17-1351, a permit renewal application, the issuance, renewal, expiration, suspension, or revocation of a handgun carry permit, or the result of any criminal history record check conducted under this part. (2) Any information or other records regarding an applicant or permit holder may be released to a law enforcement agency for the purpose of conducting an investigation or prosecution, or for determining the validity of a handgun carry permit, or to a child support enforcement agency for purposes of child support enforcement, but shall not be publicly disclosed except as evidence in a criminal or child support enforcement proceeding. (3) Nothing in this subsection (o) shall prohibit release of the handgun carry permit statistical reports authorized by § 39-17-1351(s). SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.  

One last part of the conversation I had with the staffer, he insisted that the legislature has the power to restrict (his word, not mine) the keeping and bearing of arms in TN.  I maintain that they do not, that they are given the power to regulate the wearing of arms only, and that supposedly, with a view to prevent crime only.  The first 9 stanzas of the current bill under consideration laud the class of Citizen who is afforded the privilege of paying a tax to purchase a defense against prosecution related to going about with a loaded firearm which is still regarded as an intent to go armed, a crime.   Does that not define a protected class?

In last years bill, we inserted "prevailing party" language, which required an individual who put forth the argument that he was terminated for having a firearm to prove it, or, pay the legal expenses of the other side.  No one wants to admit that, but it is so.   I have worked in Human Resources long enough to know that you never fire someone for no cause, you always structure a termination carefully, Right to Work State or not, a  wrongful termination suit takes up time and money, are filed every day and avoided like the plague.  Normally if a plaintiff can engineer a charge related to race as the causal agent that is the preferred venue.  Granted, the Business community has just about choked the life out of Article 1 Section 6 of the TN Declaration of Rights, but not quite.

I got a call from one of the Lt. Gov.'s staff persons yesterday,  the mantra is "We are not in the business of creating "protected classes"", which is a load of what Farmer Brown hauls off from the barn.  They have given and are in the process of giving judges the ability to carry which go beyond what the average citizen may enjoy, and seems they have no compunction at all about providing that.  There are a plethora of bills on the docket this year which create exemptions for certain people to bear arms in schools, are these not "protected classes"?   The thing that stuck with me, was the fact that he intoned that employers who have "policies" could in fact go to the HCP database and collect information about which of their employees had permits, and fire them for that simple reason under our current "Right to Work" rules but had not.  Not sure if I was to take that as a threat, or if collectively they are actually that dense on the hill.   He suggested that if a firm fired an employee who had perfected their carry permit for violating a policy against keeping a legal weapon in their personal vehicle, that individual COULD sue, and I agreed that was correct, and I could win the lottery this weekend, with about as much certainty as prevailing.  My father has been involved with the "legal' system against a convicted meth manufacturer and dealer for over two years, and has yet to get a day in court.  The Chancery Court issued a restraining order against the neighbors to preclude any activity on their part that would keep my parents from enjoying their property, and they let the individual park his truck at the line, shine his headlights into my parent's bedroom all night and set off his alarm by remote, the Sheriff's Department has no intention of making the worms next door cease and desist. If an 85 year old land owner is afforded no protection under the law in such and incident, there is no possibility that an individual might prevail against a firing for violation of a stated policy under Right to Work rules, and to suggest otherwise is ludicrous.   The most damning thing is he intimated it was the intent and purpose of the current legislation to protect the HCP holder from losing their jobs over the legal act of keeping a weapon in their vehicle on an employer's parking lot, and that if business in fact DID terminate people for having a firearm in their vehicle, they could "look" at it next year.  I am just filled with faith that they would be able to "see" the issue any clearer next year, just as they have on the parks opt out.

If an employer can fire you for a legal action, which is in fact Constitutionally protected, and in that protection there is no limit in where it may be enjoyed, then we have bigger problems.  The Legislature is the ONLY entity which has any power related to possession of guns, no property owner does.  If you are not committing a crime whilst attending an invitational event on their property, that owner may not kill you, or do you think they should have that ability as well at their whim?

We will have to get a new governor first...I have been trying to get our Lt. Gov. to start wooing these people for the lat 4 years to no avail.

Works in 19 other States, especially in TX, which is also a Right to Work State.  Keeping your firearm in your castle is Constitutionally protected, keeping a Bible in it is not.

Now JayC, the owner is loosing their ability to keep you from bringing a weapon onto their property, what a travesty of justice.

Unless you were an employee of the school, or a student, in either of those cases you could not.

Incorrect, any private lot can be posted, and no employee is protected from being fired.

I hope that the Leadership of the Republican party in TN doesn't have anything that penicillin will not cure...

Not sure how I feel about unlimited ability of LE to strip search?    

Sam, Kyle voted against tabling the amendment.  A "no" vote on the motion to table was a "yes" vote for the amendment.

Actually Ford DID vote for for the Amendment, and the Bill, as did Democrat Lowe Finney, the only two Dems to do so. On the Amendment: On the Bill:

  True, however, they did put up a $1,000,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, and although he was made a member of the "Top 10 Most Wanted" of the FBI he was able to evade arrest for 5+ years.  I suspect he had far fewer skills at "laying low" than the current culprit.

Good dog!

I normally don't get into these type discussions, but, one must remember Eric Robert Rudolph.  This may take a while.

  Lots, how many of them can read?

  Ask Maggart how that worked for her.  There are absolutely enough of us to put up the money to beat Manchin, we may not get them all, but we can get any one of them, if we get riled up and put our money and our time into the game.   Talking with Sheriff Guy Buck last night, he said if the Feds or the State require registration or confiscation, he will simply deputize the entire adult population of his county. There are not enough of "them" to beat all of us into submission if we stand together.

  What our Supreme Court said in Andrews v. State, 50 Tenn. 165, 181 (1871).”:     If we had any legislators with honor enough to hold to their oath of office the discussion regarding ammunition would be moot.  

  A little taste of history to explain how it could, (and has) happened.   The Jew Alfred Flatow was found to be in possession of one revolver with twenty-two rounds of ammunition, two pocket pistols, one dagger, and thirty one knuckledusters. Arms in the hands of Jews are a danger to public safety. Police First Sergeant Colisle Via an arrest report from Berlin, October 4, 1938. He was arrested based on the above while attempting to comply with an order to turn in all firearms to the government. His firearm was legally owned and registered. It wasn’t until November 11, 1938 that the Weapons Control Act of 1938 went into effect making it illegal for Jews to own firearms. Hence, he was arrested while complying with the law at the time. After his arrest he was turned over to the Gestapo and transported to Terezin in October of 1942. He died of starvation in the Theresienstadt concentration camp in December 1942. Journal on Firearms & Public Policy Volume 21, Fall 2009, “Arms in the Hands of Jews Are a Danger to Public Safety”: Nazism, Firearm Registration, and the Night of the Broken Glass, pages 28 & 29.

  Guilty of the same affliction.  My teacher Mother knew "I acted a fool" in her words before I got back to the house from school, (amazing the phone tree they had). She also tried to make sure I had an extensive vocabulary, coming from a sharecropper's background, she, (and my Father who did not learn to read till he was offered a raise of $.25 and hour if he obtained his G.E.D. at age 40) did her best to provide me and my siblings with tools to survive, for one thing both my parents sacrificed to make sure we had an opportunity to be well read.  There is a Dr., a lawyer. couple of school teachers and a Real Estate agent in that brood.  I have a working command of several technical jargons, from Engineer in several disciplines to backhoe operator, auto and manual. I too have been accused of trying to use "BIG" words when what I was really trying to do was adequately describe my thoughts so that anybody could understand them. I am in with David.

Get to know your legislators, get some friends and neighbors to know those same legislators, all of you ask them to carry those ideas to the legislature.   Best people to get it the way you want it are the ones you know and talk to.

  Had one of those happen in Weakly County yesterday afternoon, can I file a Friend of the Court brief?