waynesan

In a surprise move, the bill allowing handgun carry permit holders to carry in state parks has passed out of a subcommittee and headed to the full House Judiciary Committee for a vote. http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_5492294,00.html NASHVILLE - In a surprise move, a House panel voted Wednesday to repeal a state law that forbids the carrying of handguns on property and buildings owned by state, county and city governments - including parks and playgrounds. "I think the recent Virginia disaster - or catastrophe or nightmare or whatever you want to call it - has woken up a lot of people to the need for having guns available to law-abiding citizens," said Rep. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains. "I hope that is what this vote reflects." As amended, the legislation still wouldn't allow guns on school property, however. Niceley's bill aimed to let people holding handgun carry permits take their weapons onto state park property, which is now forbidden. But when Niceley brought the bill before the Criminal Practice Subcommittee, a branch of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Rob Briley, D-Nashville, promptly proposed an amendment to expand its scope. "We've been piecemealing this thing year after year," Briley said. "Why don't we just let you take your gun anywhere you want to?" Tennessee's handgun carry law includes a listing of places where permit holders are forbidden to take their weapons. Briley has proposed an amendment that repeals a provision prohibiting guns "in or on the grounds of any public park, playground, civic center or other building facility, area or property owned, used or operated by any municipal, county or state government, or instrumentality thereof." With very little debate, the amendment was quickly approved on a voice vote with only Rep. Janis Sontany, D-Nashville, chairman of the subcommittee, audibly shouting, "No!" She then asked Niceley if he had any comments before the bill, as amended, faced a final vote in the panel. "I'm in shock, and I can't talk," replied Niceley, though quickly adding he thought Briley's proposal was "a good amendment." The panel then approved the overall bill, sending it to the full House Judiciary Committee for a vote next week. Briley is chairman of the committee. Niceley said afterward that Tennessee should join other states that basically allow licensed people to take their handguns "anywhere they want." The Briley amendment does not go that far, having no impact on separate provisions of the law that, for example, forbid guns on school grounds, in courtrooms or in establishments that serve alcoholic beverages. But Briley, Sontany and others said afterward that it would allow permit holders to take their guns on most other state, county or city government property - including the Legislative Plaza, where signs are now posted to prohibit weapons except those carried by law enforcement officers. Briley said in an interview that he and a handful of other legislators in subcommittees have borne the brunt of harsh criticism from some gun owners for opposing past efforts to "nibble away" at restrictions on where handguns can be taken. "This has been on the backs of just a few people," he said. "Now it's time for other people to stand up and say, 'We want these protections in the law' - or not." Asked about Niceley's comment that the Virginia Tech slayings earlier this week had awakened people to the need for easing of restrictions on licensed holders of handgun carry permits, he replied in the negative. "Anybody who would make an attempt to score cheap political points over that tragedy and what we did in (the committee room) is disgusting and sick," he said. Sontany said she thought Briley acted unwisely "in the heat of the moment" and that the bill ultimately would be defeated. Niceley said that critics of the handgun carry law protested when it passed that "wild West" situations would be created, but permit holders have proven themselves responsible over the years. He said he knows of only one case where a permit holder used a weapon in a violent crime. In Tennessee, 172,828 people held legal permits as of January, according to Mike Browning, spokesman for the state Department of Safety, which issues the licenses. Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, said he had decided earlier to give up this year on his push for legislation to allow permit holders to take their handguns into restaurants serving alcoholic beverages, feeling it had little chance of passage. Todd said, however, that he has been approached by another legislator about a push to allow handguns on college campuses though "I don't know if this is the proper time to do that" in light of the Virginia Tech shootings. Tom Humphrey may be reached at 615-242-7782.

Thanks Tungsten, I really enjoy seeing Suzanna Hupp every time she is interviewed on TV. Ya think she could be persuaded to run with Fred Thompson for Prez and VP in 2008?

I started shooting IDPA last summer with a Ruger KP944 (not the kind of gun you want to use to be competitive). I bought an XD-9 service last December and after some time learning how to shoot the thing I am very pleased with it.

Thanks for the update K191145.

Just read thru this thread and hope to get with you guys in the next month or so. Working on April 21st though. A word of warning however. Towerclimber is trying to get everyone to his brother's place at Sensabaugh Tunnel. That is the only certified, genuine haunted tunnel in the Tennessee region. The story goes that many years ago a woman and her kids were killed at the tunnel and now if you park your car in the tunnel at night with your motor off and lights out, you can see her walking by the end of the tunnel while she's calling out for her kids. I've done this myself and while I didn't see her I know I heard her holler. I didn't wait for an appearence. I got outta Dodge. So if you go there to shoot, be sure you're out of there before sundown. Remember, bullets don't hurt ghosts!!!

Does anyone have any info on the bills that were to be considered this term, (restaurant carry, state park carry, etc. etc.) I haven't heard a peep in several weeks.

I searched on this site and could not find this video linked anywhere else so I hope this isn't a duplicate. This is a video where several members of law enforcement from California and Sheriff Joe Arpaio from AZ are interviewed about concealed carry. Some are pro, some are anti, but it is very interesting to hear them express their views. Its about Eight minutes long. I hope ya'll enjoy it as much as I did. http://www.fulldisclosure.net/flash/VideoBlogs/VideoBlog31.php

Congratulations Len, I've really enjoyed reading your posts on this board. Its obvious you know a lot about the political process in Nashville and that will be very helpful here. However, with added responsiblity comes added expectations so if we can't achieve any favorable results on improving Tenn. gun laws I and many others will hold you personally responsible. Good luck!!

E-mail sent. If Bredesen stands in the way of SB1597 I hope every gun owner in the State remembers this the next time a politician flaunts an endorsement from the NRA. In the last election the NRA ( to which I belong ) endorsed Bredesen for Governor but I don't remember him renouncing their (our) endorsement before the votes were cast. To accept an endorsement from pro gun groups and then not stand up for us when we need their support is tantamount to political treason in my book. If it is true that he does not support this bill then shame on him. SHAME I say!!

THANK YOU TUNGSTEN!!! I have been looking for that video for a long time but never could find it. It was great.

OUCH!!!

I got this update from VCDL's website. It appears that the letter sent to them (saying NO to concealed carry) linked by Marswolf has made some higher ups pretty mad. And it also sounds like it is not a dead issue. I sent emails to Corker, Alexander, Congressman Davis, and the Secretary of the Interior by following the instructions listed below. It may or may not help but I did let them know how I felt. If carrying in National Parks is something you would like to see made legal, I would encourage you to make the contacts as well. **URGENT** **URGENT** **URGENT** VCDL has just learned from our sources on Capitol Hill that the Department of the Interior (DOI) is **livid** over the National Park Service's (NPS) asinine rejection letter sent to VCDL concerning VCDL's Petition for Rule Making! (http://www.vcdl.org/pdf/NPS_Denial_of_VCDL_PRM.pdf) That petition would allow a law-abiding citizen to carry a handgun for self-defense in a National Park if the state in which the park is located allows such carry. Apparently the National Park Service DID NOT CLEAR that rejection letter with their parent - the Department of the Interior! The Department of Interior had been telling VCDL and key Congressional members that DOI would seriously consider VCDL's petition. The ensuing NPS rejection letter made DOI look like fools and liars. DOI doesn't like that at all, and I don't blame them. The word that I am hearing is that the Department of the Interior is investigating how to OVERTURN that rejection letter and soon!!! We have an incredible opportunity to save TWO years of work and pull off a victory for all gun owners! But we must make our voices heard LOUD AND CLEAR. I need all of you to do the following FOUR things NOW and URGENTLY no matter where you live, as this this is a NATIONAL effort: ******** 1. CALL the DOI Legislative Affairs and leave a message for the Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne. Say something like this: "I encourage Secretary Kempthorne to implement the Virginia Citizens Defense League's Petition for Rule Making that the National Park Service has rejected out-of-hand. Law-abiding citizens should be allowed to protect themselves and their families while visiting a National Park." PLEASE MAKE THAT CALL - WE WANT DOI'S TELEPHONE LINE LIT UP BIG TIME! Mr. Kempthorne's telephone number in Washington, DC is: 202-208-7351 ******** 2. Call your U.S. Senators and Congressman. Their names, phone numbers and email addresses can be found by clicking here and entering your zip and address: http://capwiz.com/nra/officials/congress Say something like this: "Please have the Senator [Congressman] contact the Department of the Interior's Secretary, Dirk Kempthorne, and ask him to overturn the National Park Service's rejection of the Virginia Citizens Defense League's Petition for Rule Making. Law-abiding citizens should be allowed to carry a handgun to defend themselves while visiting a National Park if the state in which the park is located allows such carry!" PLEASE MAKE THAT CALL - WE WANT CONGRESS' TELEPHONE LINES TO LIGHT UP AS BRIGHTLY AS DOI'S! ******** 3. After calling your Senators and Congressman, follow up with an email. Here is a sample email you can use: Please ask the Department of the Interior's Secretary, Dirk Kempthorne, to overturn the National Park Service's arbitrary rejection of the Virginia Citizens Defense League's Petition for Rule Making and to implement that petition! VCDL's Petition for Rule Making, representing over ONE MILLION gun owners, would allow law-abiding citizens to carry a handgun for self-defense in a National Park as long as the state in which that National Park is located allows such carry. The National Park Service's rejection letter was not only asinine, but condescending towards America's gun owners. My family member and I are given but one life each. I ask that you make sure that I can defend those lives while visiting a National Park! Please let me know what you are going to do. ******** 4. After calling and leaving a message for DOI, follow up with an email to Secretary Kempthorne: Email address: exsec@ios.doi.gov Suggested email subject: Please approve VCDL's Petition for Rule Making! Suggested email text: Dear Secretary Kempthorne, I ask that you approve and implement the Virginia Citizens Defense League's (VCDL) Petition for Rule Making that would allow a law-abiding citizen to carry a handgun for self-defense in a National Park as long the state in which the park is located allows such carry. The National Park Service sent a rejection letter to VCDL listing four very poor reasons for the rejection. None of the reasons listed legitimately justifies denying a person the right to defend the only life they have been given. The Petition, representing over ONE MILLION gun owners, was basically rejected out-of-hand. Please let me know what the Department of the Interior is going to do regarding this matter. Sincerely, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR ADDRESS] ******** OK, ladies and gentlemen - let's ROLL! Please spread this alert far and wide! We need gun owners from all over the country to make this happen!

I lived in Wilmington in 73-74 when I was in the Air Force. Lived on South Kerr Ave. Stationed at New Hanover County Airport. Always loved the Wilmington - Wrightsville Beach - Carolina Beach area. But boy the summers sure are hot. Welcome aboard.

For the last five or six years I am never without my little NAA .22 Mag Mini-Revolver. Out to four or five yards I can hit pretty consistant with it. Beyond that its worthless. Keep it in a pocket holster and most of the time carry it in my pants, but sometimes carry it in my shirt or jacket pocket.

Here is an opinion piece by Ben West who is a Democtrat from the 60th District. Don't know anything else about him but he does a good job of explaining the stupidity of "assault weapons bans". http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070227/OPINION01/702270341/1008 Tuesday, 02/27/07 Issue is really about 'assault-style weapons' By BEN WEST JR. Recently, I was asked, "How do we get assault weapons off the street?" As I considered that question, I decided that I should first determine what the problem is before I began to solve it. OAS_AD('300x250_1'); Are "assault weapons" causing a problem on the street? No. Most experts define an assault weapon as a weapon capable of fully automatic firing. Assault weapons are machine guns and submachine guns. That type of weapon is not what I was being asked to address. Another use of the term "assault weapons" appeared in the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban where it was used to describe semi-automatic firearms that have mostly cosmetic features normally associated with military firearms. These semi-automatic weapons were called assault weapons because they "looked" bad, not because of what they could do. These semi-automatic firearms are really "assault-styled weapons" but they are not assault weapons. The term "assault-style weapons" is used by public officials, media and gun-control proponents to refer to firearms they consider inappropriate for civilian ownership. Intended as a wedge issue The characteristics of "assault-styled weapons" are largely irrelevant to a street crime problem. There is no epidemic of bayonetings or grenadings in Nashville. The pejorative term was likely created specifically to fit in the sentence, "Why would anybody need an assault weapon?" If so, it was intended as a wedge issue to push hunters away from the rest of the firearms community. So, is the question really, "How do we get semi-automatic firearms that are cosmetically threatening off the streets?" The first semi-automatic rifle was built in 1885. American gunsmith John Browning introduced semi-automatics to the civilian market as early 1906. The semi-automatic firearm has been in civilian hands in this country longer than the fuel-injected engine, the personal computer, the microwave oven, the credit card, the television and many other common items. Nobody complained until relatively recently. The 1994 gun ban did not prohibit all semi-automatic firearms but just those that had a military look. But a semi-auto is a semi-auto no matter how mean or scary it may look. The technology is more than a 100 years old. If "assault-style weapons" have no place in society, then it follows that semi-automatics of any kind have no place in society. But our nation has persevered for close to 100 years with these guns in private hands, and there appears to be no sign of fundamental social breakdown as a result or 100-year crime trend because of their existence. I am not persuaded that military-looking weapons are a problem. People misusing semi-automatic and other firearms are certainly a problem. I believe the solution is that we need to get and keep criminals off the street. Constitutionally, it is better to get the criminals off the streets than to classify a large group of responsible, law-abiding citizens as potential criminals just because of the look of the guns they may own.

Well said Tungsten. And if it ever comes to the point that the govt. starts looking for guns via the NRA membership list we will have passed the "we're screwed" stage long before that.

Well guys, After my post yesterday about getting a call from Jon Lundberg, today I got a call from Rep. Nathan Vaughn. Nathan Vaughn is a Democrat from Kingsport. While I have always been impressed with Mr. Vaughn's stand on issues on which I've heard him speak, I was amazed to hear him talk to me about his support of 2nd Amendment issues and his support for the bills that have been mentioned in this thread. I won't go into details about our conversation but I was so impressed that he would call me and talk for over 20 minutes about an issue that is so controversial in Nashville but which he supports wholeheartedly. The most important thing he told me was that when the bills are sent to committee they will either be killed or sent to the House for a vote. Some committees are better than others. They may or may not all be sent to the same committee. Just have to wait and see who gets what and watch for what happens.

I'm also from Kingsport. I have a 32 year old daughter that got into guns and shooting a few years ago when she took a part time job in a gun shop in Johnson City. She got her handgun permit at ETSU. I had no idea that a state college had a program for shooters but they do. She really liked the class. Are you familiar with Cherokee Rod and Gun Club? Its a great place to go shoot. There are getting to be more and more ladies coming out there and you might find it a good place to hang out once in a while. You can take the handgun permit class there as well.

To the Administrator, I think Len's post on how to contact officials would make a good sticky.

GlockingTN, Tungsten, I went to the tn.gov website and got the phone numbers in Nashville for Ramsey, Lundberg, and Vaughn (I live in Lundberg's district but I own some property in Vaughn's so I figured I'd call both). I told each ones staff member that I had some bills that were pending that I supported and wanted them to pass on to their bosses that I wanted them to do everything they could to get them passed. I gave them the bill #s that I posted in my first post on this thread. There was little more than just taking down my information with a promise to send it on and that my reps would probably call me later to discuss it with me ( they were all out of their office at this time ). I had my doubts about a return phone call, but you never know. About an hour later my phone rang, I answered and it was Jon Lundberg returning my call. He asked me what he could do for me and I told him I was calling about the pending bills. He asked if I was for or against them. I told him I was for them and wanted him to do everything he could to get them passed. He assured me he would and that he also thought that many of the restrictions on handgun carry were silly and fly in the face of common sence. However, he told me that in his opinion it was going to be very difficult to get anything passed in the House. There are just too many antis in positions of power that have too much control over what goes through. Its not impossible but a tough row to hoe. And GlockingTN, it really turned into a "wassup dude" kind of conversation. We shot the sh*t for about 10 minutes and I actually begged off to let him go cause I know he's busy. This was my first time calling Lundberg as he is a new member of the House but I must say he impressed me a lot. I think we got a good one when we got him. From what I hear, if a representitive is in his or her office when you call, its not that uncommon for them to get on the phone with you and talk about your problem. But the main thing is CALL. Let them know how you feel about what you want. Be polite, but make your voice heard. If you have an anti gun representitive and they never hear from you, and your friends, and your family, and your neighbors, then if they vote against what you want they aren't going to know.

Well, like I said last night, I called my Reps today and got to talk to one of them personally. While he is very pro gun, he is not very optimistic about getting any pro gun bills passed through the House. Its not hopeless but it will be more than difficult to get anything past the Naifeh machine. CALL YOUR REPS. Don't put it off. Make sure they know your position and what you want them to do. Read the posts by "Len" on these boards for some good info on how the system works.

I can't believe I just made a suggestion for this forum this morning and then later today find this new forum here. I am planning on calling my State Reps tomorrow about the pending legislation: HB1143/SB1885 - Restaraunt Carry HB2184/SB2143 - Carry in State Parks HB0132/SB0053 - Carry in hunting areas, refuges, wildlife management areas, and National Forrests. HB0067/SB0153 - Allows storing firearms in locked vehicle on any property set aside for vehicles. If every law abiding gun owner in Tennessee would call their State Reps at every oportunity when favorable legislation is being considered I think it would go a long way to make our state more friendly to those of us who want to carry for us and our family's protection. One thing I think would be a good idea is for every gun store in the state to have flyers or notices of some kind with pending legislation concerning firearms to give to their customers or at least displayed so everyone coming into the store could see it. Also have the phone number of the State Senator and State Representitives for that area so the customer could be encouraged to make that call. It never ceases to amaze me how uninvolved many gun owners are in the political process of lawmaking in our state. All you have to do is consider the mess the gunowners in New York, New Jersey, Mass. and a few others are in and wonder if the gunowners in years gone by could have joined together and stopped the restrictive laws from being passed if they had.

Great post Len. Thanks for taking the time.

When I first discovered this site I was hoping that one day there would be a section devoted to links to current Tn laws pertaining to all firearms issues. For me, searching through Tn codes is a very time consuming task and I often give up before I find what I need. Starting a thread with a "sticky" on Tn gun laws would be a great place to refer people with questions on what's legal and what's not. As has been mentioned by Marswolf, pending legislation would also be a great additiion with bill numbers so we could call our reps and keep track of the bills progress or demise.

I go to most of these sites every day: www.thehighroad.org www.packing.org www.thefiringline.com/forums www.keepandbeararms.com www.shotgunworld.com www.xdtalk.com