Meetings at the Capitol this week.

[Worriedman]

I was privileged to have a sit down with the Speaker of the House on Wednesday, orchestrated by my State Rep, Chris Todd, and attended as well by Rep. Clay Doggett   The take away is that we will, in the House at least, face no Leadership opposition in achieving the removal of the criminal aspect of carrying a firearm, the inclusion of long guns into the permissible weapons list (basically removing TCA 1307 (a) (1) and 1308 from the Code) and some realignment of "Public" place carry without penalty.

With respect to "gun free zones" the Speaker portends that "Private Property Rights" stand above 2nd and 14th Rights with respect to who has the power to allow or disallow carry in stores.  The Mississippi scheme was mentioned, that possibly the Enhanced Permit Holders be able to carry past signs without criminal penalty, unless the management became aware of a firearm and ask the person to leave, which then would result in a criminal trespass.  No resolution was forthcoming at that time though lines of communication are still open regarding the issue.  I have forwarded the Federal code section 42 to the parties:

42 U.S. Code § 12181 – Definitions

As used in this subchapter (7) Public accommodation

The following private entities are considered public accommodations for purposes of this subchapter, if the operations of such entities affect commerce—

(A)an inn, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging, except for an establishment located within a building that contains not more than five rooms for rent or hire and that is actually occupied by the proprietor of such establishment as the residence of such proprietor; (B)a restaurant, bar, or other establishment serving food or drink; (C)a motion picture house, theater, concert hall, stadium, or other place of exhibition or entertainment; (D)an auditorium, convention center, lecture hall, or other place of public gathering; (E)a bakery, grocery store, clothing store, hardware store, shopping center, or other sales or rental establishment; (F)a laundromat, dry-cleaner, bank, barber shop, beauty shop, travel service, shoe repair service, funeral parlor, gas station, office of an accountant or lawyer, pharmacy, insurance office, professional office of a health care provider, hospital, or other service establishment; (G)a terminal, depot, or other station used for specified public transportation; (H)a museum, library, gallery, or other place of public display or collection; (I)a park, zoo, amusement park, or other place of recreation; (J)a nursery, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate private school, or other place of education; (K)a day care center, senior citizen center, homeless shelter, food bank, adoption agency, or other social service center establishment; and (L)a gymnasium, health spa, bowling alley, golf course, or other place of exercise or recreation.

The jury is still out on what the GA will "allow".

It was clearly stated that there is expectation of positive movement of restorative measures in the House, due to the recent court cases which show heavy favor to our request, but that the Speaker could not be held accountable for the actions of the Senate, which mirrors the thoughts I have expressed in a previous thread.

From that meeting to the next, which included a number of 2nd Amendment friendly Representatives, again hosted by Reps Chris Todd and Clay Doggett to include Jay Reedy, and Johnny Garrett (majority whip) plus a number of freshman Representatives, Jody Barrett, Monty Fritts, Kip Capley, Elaine Davis, Brian Richey, Gino Bulso, Brock Martin and William Slater.  Included in the invitees was Toby Maire, paid lobbyist for T-Rex Arms.  Toby is a German ex patriot, an attorney by trade, and is a constant fixture at the GA for the last several years.

To say that I was heartened by the general enthusiasm and support for the full expectation of returning the rights intended with respect to arms would be putting it mildly.  Barrett and Bulso are seasoned attorneys and well placed in committees.  With the exception of Fritts (who for some reason fell under the radar for support in the races earlier in the year, and which was grievous mistake on my part) we were monetarily invested in all their races.  This is without doubt the best freshman class of legislators in decades.

All that being said, we have a plan for moving forward.  That MUST include contact and advocacy in the Senate.

The recent AG admission of the State's guilt in committing a Federal Civil Rights violation with respect to withholding the rights of 18-20 year olds right to carry handguns shows the GA that if they do not move back to what Bruen describes, we will simply win it in the courts.  Offering the Senate the chance to make themselves heroes of doing the right thing instead of being spanked into admitting they were doing their best to deny our rights may be the tact we need to take.

[JN01]

Thanks for your efforts and the update.

[Wheelgunner]

This is encouraging.  I appreciate your work for Tennesseans.

[Worriedman]

It is now more imperative than ever that the Senators hear from their constituents.

It is not a matter solely of something we want, rather what we have that the General Assembly has taken.  Maybe not this iteration, but factually their past actions as a group, ordained by the Constitution to have that kind of power IS responsible for the taking (infringement of the 2nd Amendment) of a right due the people.  There are those in both chambers who agree with a restoration, (more especially in the House) but if the public does not let them know the People support it they will not stick their heads up out of the foxholes to do the correct thing.

The admission by our new Attorney General, Jonathan Skrmetti in the Beeler case last week proves that the State government of Tennessee recognizes the infringement on the right to keep and bear arms as declared by the Constitutions of the State and Union against the age group in the posted agreement which states "The Challenged Scheme regulating the possession and carrying of handguns that restricts individuals aged 18 years old to 20 years old from carrying handguns or obtaining permits to carry handguns on the basis of age alone violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution." (emphasis mine) proves the contention I make.  It also points to the correct interpretation of the Bruen decision by that office.

It is important to note that the AG did not say carry by permit only, there are two distinctions in his admission that it is legal to carry without or to obtain a permit, words matter.

The unspoken, though verifiable admission is that Tennessee has been guilty of a Federal Civil Rights violation with respect to our 2nd Amendment rights.  When the SCOTUS incorporated the 2nd Amendment against the states through the due process clause of the 14th Amendment in 2010, they placed the same chains on the states as the Constitution has on the Federal government, and named the 2nd Amendment a Civil right

Now is the time to write your Senators and to call their offices and politely ask to be recorded in favor of returning the right to carry lawfully possessed firearms, in case of confrontation, in public, without it being deemed a crime by our employees.

Edited January 29, 2023 by Worriedman

[kwe45919]

Good work and great words.  

 

Thank you