History of the right to carry in Tennessee

[quickbiscuit]

Something I have wanted to research for a while is the legality and attitude toward carrying a handgun prior to when our current permit system began in 1994.  I've had to piece together information from multiple sources but I think I have a pretty good handle on the progression of the right to carry in Tennessee.  The historical restrictions on the right to carry surprised me and revealed how much this has progressed over the last 25 years.  Please post comments, additions, and corrections as needed.  It would also be great to hear any stories about what you remember the gun culture to have been like concerning carrying handguns in the 70s/80s - even before.

A third version of Tennessee's constitution was ratified in January 1870 and added to Article 1, Section 26, "...the legislature shall have the power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime."  From what I can tell the first instance addressing the carrying of handguns by statute was in June 1870, when the state legislature passed a bill making it unlawful for "any person to publicly or privately carry a...belt or pocket pistol or revolver."  In Andrews v. State (Tenn Supreme Court 1871) the law was upheld.  I assume that prior to 1870, pistols and revolvers were not in wide enough circulation as to need laws addressing the carrying or wearing of such and that it was a practice not commonly carried out.  It's noteworthy that the state supreme court saw no need to satisfy any part of the 2nd Amendment in this decision and others because the 2A was understood to only apply to the federal government.

Sometime in 1928 or just prior, the city of Chattanooga enacted a municipal ordinance making it unlawful "to carry on or about the person any pistol."  This was challenged in Glasscock v. City of Chattanooga, and the ordinance was struck down but only because the state had previously recognized an exception for an "Army or Navy pistol...carried openly in the hand."  This exception presumably stemming from language included in the Aymette v. State decision from 1840 and later cases like Porter v. State (1874).  This exception was the only thing that kept the statewide ban on carrying "belt or pocket pistols" in compliance with the state constitution because it was previously established that the definition of "arms" included weapons which soldiers use in warfare such as army and navy pistols.

So as I understand it, from the time handguns came into more common circulation in the mid-1800s, it was unlawful to wear or carry one for the purpose of going armed until 1989 when Tennessee became a may-issue state.  From what I have read, however, very few people received carry permits between 1989 and 1994 when the current shall-issue permit system was put in place.

I knew that the right to carry movement was a more recent advancement, but I did not realize that it came from what amounted to a total ban on carrying handguns.  Please post corrections or anything important that I might have left out.

[owejia]

If memory serves me right when carry permits were first issued you had to carry the weapon that you qualified with no exceptions. Before permits the legal way people carried was to get a special deputy  or auxillary deputy badge from your local sheriff,  most folks just carried unlawfully without either a badge or permit.

[300winmag]

I'm going to guess a lot of people in TN carried illegally and a lot of police would not give people tickets/arrest otherwise law abiding people carrying handguns before permits were fairly easy to get.  Considering that it is a misdemeanor to illegally carry, a lot of folks probably just figured their lives were worth more than the fine if their state/county would not give them a permit.

[2.ooohhh]

My mother, and aunt had "Permits" if you want to call them that before TN formalized them. They were handwritten cards from my grandfather's department.(he was a TN sheriff at the time and former THP) I only saw my mother hand it to a local officer here once, but it was accepted by a Williamson County Sheriff's deputy. I do know my grandfather would not hassle locals for carrying if they were law abiding, but he issued both his daughters the "permits" when they both went to school in Knoxville and he gave them each a S&W airweight to take with them.

[bersaguy]

Back years ago before I got my CCW permit I had a deputy badge and ID and it was issued by the Cheatham County Sheriff at the time. I carried it many years and never had any issues even when that sheriff was no longer in office. The new sheriff honored most of them unless you got in trouble.

[300winmag]

Were people limited on where they could legally carry with these old sheriff cards or could you just carry anywhere you wanted, such as a college campus?

[Garufa]

10 minutes ago, 300winmag said:

Were people limited on where they could legally carry with these old sheriff cards or could you just carry anywhere you wanted, such as a college campus?

I'm going to take a WAG but no, there were no limits, except maybe the permit was only good in your county.

[DaveTN]

We have a lot more privileges than we had before, and more than many states. But we do not have a “Right to carry”. I think only about 10 or 11 states has that, and of those I’m not sure they all recognize it as a 2nd amendment right.

Recognizing the right to “bear arms” as well as “keep arms” is what Tennessee needs next. We are very close to joining the elite states of Constitutional carry; but not yet there.

A right implies that it is for all the people; we don’t have that.

[Chucktshoes]

There is a point missing from this equation with regard to who was considered "law abiding" and allowed to carry by police without undue hassle. It speaks to the fundamental intent of bans on carry that appeared throughout the South during the Reconstruction era. An honest accounting of these laws is impossible to make if one doesn't also make note of the racist origins of them. Folks were generally considered law abiding if they were white. Persons of color were almost uniformly excluded from that category. It wasn't until after the laws began to be applied more uniformly that efforts were made to provide an avenue for legal carry. 

Edited December 5, 2016 by Chucktshoes

[JayC]

14 hours ago, DaveTN said:

We have a lot more privileges than we had before, and more than many states. But we do not have a “Right to carry”. I think only about 10 or 11 states has that, and of those I’m not sure they all recognize it as a 2nd amendment right.

Recognizing the right to “bear arms” as well as “keep arms” is what Tennessee needs next. We are very close to joining the elite states of Constitutional carry; but not yet there.

A right implies that it is for all the people; we don’t have that.

TN is in the minority, 30 states have some form of unlicensed carry.  While only a handful have full on Constitutional Carry, which just means concealed carry without a license, many states have no laws against open carry by unlicensed law abiding citizens.

TN which should set an example isn't and we should push harder to fix that.  

[leroy]

18 hours ago, Chucktshoes said:

There is a point missing from this equation with regard to who was considered "law abiding" and allowed to carry by police without undue hassle. It speaks to the fundamental intent of bans on carry that appeared throughout the South during the Reconstruction era. An honest accounting of these laws is impossible to make if one doesn't also make note of the racist origins of them. Folks were generally considered law abiding if they were white. Persons of color were almost uniformly excluded from that category. It wasn't until after the laws began to be applied more uniformly that efforts were made to provide an avenue for legal carry. 

What Chuck said here is the genuine truth of the matter about "...the state regulating the wearing of arms with an eye toward keeping the peace..."... I think it is hilarious that the "anti second amendment" crowd convienently overlooks this as they lead the "children" around with their demigoguery... Black folks should be the stauchest supporters of "Constitutional Carry" and the "Right to Keep and Bear Arms" everywhere... Sadly, lots of 'em are not....

wonderin leroy

Edited December 6, 2016 by leroy

[Will]

The first year of the State CCW Permit you were also required to be bonded ,and that ran a hundred dollars extra. A lot of people had the

Sheriff Permits at no cost but it was usually political terms to get and keep one as in working on their election campaign when needed or

who you knew and they were honored in most other States  as well.