Tri-Cities Bob

The total fee for non-veterans is $100 for an 8-year permit. This includes the background check and fingerprinting. For veterans (no marksmanship certification required, just honorable service on their DD-214 or a current ID card) is for the "background check only" at $68. Veterans get the a break on the rest of the usual $100 fee for their initial 8-year permit. If veterans want to forego the firing test for the class, they must produce proof of acceptable training while in the military. The Handgun Unit's website addresses this, but they haven't told the schools what to look for to mark "pass" on the firing phase, so as of today (11/27/2017) veterans will still have to complete both the written test and firing test in order to get a pass/pass for the class. In a recent class one veteran said, "The firing test is the best part of the class. Why would I want to forego it?".

For TN Handgun Safety Class in the Johnson City area take a look at unakarodandgun.com website and click on "Classes" option on the top of the home page. Classes are held the 2nd Saturday of every month except January and February and cost $50.

Okay, so it looks like the only change to current DOS policy is that the active duty member or veteran now only has to provide documentation that a 4 hour training event was completed during their time in the service and the requirement that it must have been conducted within the past five years will be eliminated on July 1st. As usual, the local new media didn't get it quite right. THANKS Dave TN!

This, if it's accurate, would appear to be a change in the current policy which requires a veteran to provide proof of the required minimum of four hours of training within the past five years. Your DD-214 does not address training completed and the DOS website cites several DD forms which may be used to document the required training -- but this policy has been in effect for at least a year. This "new" policy (if the TV news info is correct) appears to eliminate the training requirement all together for all veterans and active duty personnel. Again, I can't find any official recognition of this change.

Yesterday (6/27/2016) our local TV news was going through some changes in State laws which supposedly take effect on July 1, 2016. After the wine in grocery stores change, they casually mentioned that, effective on July 1st, active duty military, retirees and veterans would be exempt from the requirement to complete the required training class before being granted a Tennessee HCP. I can't find any reference to that change on State's DOS website or anywhere else. Anybody heard anything about this?

The video you should see during your required training class was produced by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and does a pretty good job of describing the State's rules concerning when and where you cannot carry.  It does not address the Federal regulations.  Under Federal rules, NO WEAPONS OF ANY KIND (with or without permit) can be carried into any Federal "facility".  A Federal facility is defined as any building or office owned by, rented or leased by the Federal Government.  Essentially, if there are Federal workers in the building or office, no weapons are allowed -- period.  The Post Office and Veteran's Affairs folks have extended that restriction to the parking lots or campuses around their buildings (and the VA also includes National Cemeteries), so you cannot legally leave your gun in your car while you transact business inside the building or office.  The Post Office parking lot ban was just upheld in a U. S. Appeals Court decision in June of 2015.  If the terminal of an airport is not posted, you may carry your handgun inside, but not within the security area -- AND DON'T PACK ONE IN YOU CARRY-ON LUGGAGE OR TRY TO CARRY IT CONCEALED ONTO THE AIRCRAFT.  Guns can be transported in commercial aircraft, but only in checked luggage, and then usually in a locked case within your luggage.  Check with you airline to get their specific requirements before going to the airport for your flight.  National Parks will allow handgun carry as provided by the state in which they are located, so if you have a TN HCP (or one from another state which has reciprocity with TN -- which is any state which issues a permit) you can carry in a National Park in Tennessee.  The only exception is any office or station within the park which is normally occupied by a Park Ranger or other Federal employee.  That is treated as a Federal Facility and weapons are banned.  Leave your handgun out-of-sight and locked in your car. I agree that under Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) there is no legal requirement to tell a law enforcement officer during a traffic stop that you have an HCP or that you are armed, but back to the video (produced by the Tennessee Highway Patrol) they show a traffic stop in which the driver gives the officer his or her HCP along with their driver's license.  Personally, I think that's a good idea.  The officer will undoubtedly know that you have an HCP when he or she runs you driver's license since both are issued by the DOS and your HCP number is the same as your driver's license number.  He or she will then wonder why you were not forthcoming about your permit and approach the remainder of the traffic stop with extra caution, which is generally not good for you.  If I were an officer making a traffic stop, I would not like any surprises.

First, the recommendation to contact Lisa Knight at the DOS in Nashville is sound. Second, I don't believe the fact that, since you are active duty military, as a legal resident of Florida you would be denied a Tennessee HCP.  The only problem I see is that if you try to submit your application online the system may kick the application out as it will not recognize your FL driver's license number.  I'd go ahead and try and see what the website does.  If it does reject your application, you should be able to complete the required training class, get your certificate and submit a paper application at the driver's license office.  The agents at the office should be able to override the system's rejection and begin processing your application.  Any State certified school can provide a manually processed training certificate. Again, call the folks at the Nashville Handgun Office first and see what they say. I have never come across this particular issue before, but I am retired Navy and a TN Handgun Instructor, so I have some experience with similar issues.

The Department of Safety changed their firing requirements in April 2013.  All schools are now required to have students shoot a minimum of 50 rounds at a B-29 (small) silhouette target at ranges of 3 yards (20 shots), 5 yards (20 shots) and 7 yards (10 shots).  These are generally fired in 5-shot groups, but that is left up to the chief instructor.  Scoring is two points for any shot inside or touching the outside ("7") scoring ring and one point for shots outside the scoring rings but still inside the silhouette.  Zero is awarded for anything outside the silhouette.  A minimum score of 70 is required to pass.  If the student has submitted his or her application online before entering the class, written and shooting test results are reported online on a pass/fail basis; otherwise test scores are faxed or mailed to Nashville.   In our class we can handle up to12 students on the firing line in each relay.  We have four or five instructors participating in each class, so each instructor only has two or three students to monitor during the firing phase.  If someone seems to be having trouble during the first phase or two, one of the instructors will step in give them individual help to overcome the problem -- usually it's a problem with sight alignment for a first-time shooter.  We also have .22 semi-automatic target pistols we can lend students for the firing phase, or they are free to use their own guns.  Our only restriction is that we do not allow .44 magnum or .357 magnum ammunition to be used during the class.  Students who own a gun in either of these calibers can still use the gun, but substitute .44 special or .38 special ammo, as other shooters and the instructors find the report of the magnum ammo distracting and annoying.  We also feel that neither of these types of magnum ammunition is a good choice for a defensive carry gun because of the potential problem of over-penetration ("You are responsible for the bullet no matter where it goes" -- even if it's through your assailant and out the other side).  If you're really concerned about passing the firing portion of the class you may want to locate a class that has a number of instructors assisting with each class, then if you need it you can probably get individual attention to get a satisfactory score.

From information from some of our recent class graduates, it seems if they submitted their applications online and then took the class, if there are no questionable issues on their applications (which may take additional time to research) it takes an average of two weeks to receive their permits in the mail following submission of their fingerprints.  If they didn't submit online, but went through the old manual system, it takes about 30 days to get it.

Some time ago -- maybe 10 years or more -- Tennessee used to require the gun used to qualify for the HCP to be listed on the course completion certificate and that information then appeared on the HCP, but that requirement went away at least a decade ago.  You can now qualify with any handgun and then carry any handgun.  The DOS has no idea what you used to qualify.  No record of the handgun you used in class is maintained by the school or provided to the DOS.   With regard to the comment that your shooting score could be used to say you should "shoot someone in the hand", the old application process (which can still be used) did require schools to submit a "class roster" to  the DOS at the completion of the class which included the actual scores for each student for both the written and shooting tests.  The new online application process only reports "pass/fail" for both the written exam and shooting portion of the class.  The school is required to maintain class records for all students, including the actual written exam and the shooting score, for three years, but I have never heard of anyone except the Tennessee Highway Patrol Officer conducting the annual course review, asking any school to provide that information.

Although Federal law states you CAN transit through any state with certain restrictions, remember that if you are stopped and they find a weapon of any kind on you, it will be the STATE or local police who stop you.  They will enforce STATE, not FEDERAL regulations, so you may find yourself in jail for a few days and lose your handgun permanently.  You can then hire an attorney ($$$$$) to defend you in the STATE court by arguing (probably successfully) that FEDERAL regulations prevail.  Hooray, you won -- and you only spent 72 hours in a New Jersey jail, didn't get to the event you went to the State for, and lost your $500 handgun.  Just leave the gun at home or don't go at all.

First, I totally agree that under Tennessee law you are not required to inform a LEO that you have an HCP or that you are armed.  That said, I'm sure the handgun class video, which is produced and distributed by the Department of Safety (Tennessee Highway Patrol) reflects their preferences concerning how a traffic stop is handled.  A couple of times a month we hear about some traffic stop that has gone horribly wrong.  A simple stop for a warning that a tail light is burned out becomes a crime scene, often with the LEO as the victim.  I don't blame police for being suspicious as they approach a strange car and driver, and if they suddenly see a handgun in the car they didn't know about, who can blame them for reacting defensively.  If, as depicted in the video, you start the conversation by telling (and showing) them you have an HCP, they will (usually) assume you are not an escaping killer (who certainly wouldn't divulge having a gun) and things can get right friendly after that; sometimes resulting in your being let go with a warning.

Concerning the 10 day delay between new HCP approval and receipt, as I understand their process, once they approve your application for a new handgun carry permit, the handgun office sends the information to the "permit farm".  I assume the permit farm is somewhere in the Nashville region.  The document itself (along with all Tennessee drivers' licenses) is produced at this facility and put in the mail.  I'm sure that step adds at least a day or two to the whole process. 

The Department of Safety Handgun Permit Office has started a program for online submission of a handgun carry permit application, effective immediately.  The web page is https://apps.tn.gov/handgun/.  Applicants should visit this page before taking the required training class.  They submit essentially the same application they used to, but it is done online instead of on paper.  At the end of the application submission they are given a confirmation number which they should provide to the school they select in which to conduct their training.  School results (written exam results, shooting results and final pass/fail) are also reported to Nashville via Internet by the school.  If the student requests a course completion certificate the school can print one, but a certificate is not required as the student can just present a code number at the driver's license station and all their training results will be available to the person accepting the application.  There have been no changes in the course curriculum, just the online processing of the application.  Schools may still process students in the old manual process for students who do not have computer access or otherwise don't fit into the online application process, or if there is some sort of system failure for the online process.    

It looks like the 2-week turnaround on mail renewals is slipping quite a bit.  My permit doesn't expire until June, but I figured I'd get ahead of the curve and submit my renewal application as soon as I could, so I filled it out and mailed it via Priority Mail on December 4th.  The Post Office lost track of it and couldn't confirm delivery, so I called Nashville on December 10th and they confirmed that they had just received the application that day.  I got my original permit in the mail exactly three weeks from the day I was fingerprinted and I am retired military and have an absolutely spotless record.  It's now 40 days and still no new permit.  I did get my extension letter in the mail in mid-December.  Maybe since they know my permit doesn't expire for a while the put it on the bottom of the pile.