TFA makes Jimmy Nafeh the issue for 2008

[TGO David]

From the TFA mailing list, for those here who do not subscribe...

Tennessee Firearms Association, Inc.

Legislative Action Committee

<hr> Tennesseans deserve honesty, integrity and truthfulness in elected officials....

This past spring, Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, exercised a power, one which he is willing to abuse, to kill several widely popular "Second Amendment" bills in the Tennessee General Assembly.

This conduct comes as no surprise to constitutionalists and Second Amendment supporters who watched as Jimmy Naifeh ruled on legislation unilaterally like a tyrant rather than to allow all 99 House members to have a representative vote on these bills. For reasons yet unexplained satisfactorily, the Jimmy Naifeh cannot articulate why the elected representatives of all citizens of the state of Tennessee should be routinely denied the opportunity to vote on legislation which Speaker Naifeh disfavors. Such power is not representative government by tyranny.

Speaker Naifeh explained his action in the following press release:

<table width="90%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td>Jimmy Naifeh wrote:</td></tr> <tr> <td>

Reason and Balance Key to Protection of Rights

April 11, 2008

Speaker Jimmy Naifeh

“In a healthy nation there is a kind of dramatic balance between the will of the people and the government, which prevents its degeneration into tyranny.”

- Albert Einstein

As many of you may or may not know, the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives has the right to cast a vote in any committee or subcommittee meeting. In my nearly twenty years as Speaker, I have made it a point to use this privilege sparingly and save it for times when I feel such intervention is needed.

This year the House of Representatives has been faced with a number of bills dealing with the topic of guns. As a gun owner myself and someone who supports the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, the issue of gun ownership is a personal one. While I have and will continue to defend a Tennessean’s right to bear arms, I also recognize that with that right comes the need for responsibility. That need for responsibility led me to cast my vote against these bills.

There are some who have said these votes were “anti-gun” votes, trying to paint me and those who support my efforts as anti- Second Amendment. That could not be farther from the truth. In addition to owning sixteen different firearms, a few weeks ago I became one of the over 190,000 to earn a concealed weapons permit.

The aim of these bills was not to protect or defend the Second Amendment of this country, but rather an attempt by an extreme few to pervert our right to bear arms into a law that only recognizes a select few. Allowing people to carry concealed weapons in bars and restaurants does nothing to improve safety, but rather opens the door to much larger problems. Restricting and criminalizing access to the over 190,000 concealed weapons permit holders records does nothing for the protection of Tennessee’s 6.5 million residents. And so I voted these bills down.

The Jackson Sun Editorial Board praised my actions, not once but twice, saying “there's no doubt that Naifeh made the right decision in helping defeat these bills, not just because his constituents were opposed to them, but because killing the legislation will help keep Tennesseans safe.”

Most gun owners that I have talked to understand why this legislation was not acceptable, and recognize that here in Tennessee we have it pretty good. They, along with most Tennesseans, realize that the balance between those that own firearms and those who do not must be respected. But you cannot please everyone all the time, and so there are a couple of radicals out there claiming an anti-gun agenda ruled the day.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again and will continue to say it. As long as I am Speaker, we will never have to worry about our Second Amendment right being infringed upon.

http://wdef.com/news/tennessee<wbr>_house_speaker_explains_his<wbr>_deciding_vote_against_gun<wbr>_legislation_this_session/04<wbr>/2008</td></tr></tbody></table>

Now, let's take a few looks at what Speaker Naifeh says.

1) Jimmy Naifeh (or someone who writes for him) quotes Einstein on tyranny. That is ironic. Note that the quote was a reference that the balance being addressed was the will of the people restraining government from declining into tyranny. While the quote is appropriate, it is not a quote supportive of Jimmy Naifeh's own tyrannical actions.

2) The "right" of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to vote in committee is not a constitutional right in Tennessee, its instead a privilege created under the House Rules. Just because it exists does not make it a "right" nor does it elevate the role of Speaker to some sort of superior moral gatekeeper for all legislation passing through the House. Here, it is simply a tool used by Speaker Naifeh to give his single vote far more importance than was ever intended in a representative form of government.

3) While the Speaker may in fact be a gun owner, so are many criminals. Hitler was a gun owner. Stalin was a gun owner. John Dillinger was a gun owner. So was Alvin York. The fact that Jimmy Naifeh is a gun owner alone provides no material evidence that he supports or protects or for that matter even comprehends the Second Amendment.

It is also noteworthy that he, as a state legislator, makes no reference whatsoever to the Tennessee Constitutional guarantee in Article 1, Section 26, which protects the rights of Tennesseans at a higher level than the Second Amendment. But then again, constitutionally protected rights may mean nothing to a Speaker with a special voting power and a perception that his special powers exist to balance what is right and to exterminate unwise and unbalanced legislation that almost all other elected legislators actually support.

4) Jimmy Naifeh then says "In addition to owning sixteen different firearms, a few weeks ago I became one of the over 190,000 to earn a concealed weapons permit."

First, let us note that Jimmy Naifeh does not even really understand the law that was passed almost 15 years ago which establishes a permitting system in Tennessee. Despite what he thinks, Tennessee is not and never has issued "concealed weapons permit". There is no concealment requirement. There is no "weapons" permit. It is a civilian handgun permit under which open carry is allowed.

Second, note that Jimmy Naifeh tries to align himself with the citizens who elect to obtain civilian handgun permits by asserting that he "earn"ed his permit. Again, the civilian handgun permit in Tennessee is a right. You do not "earn" it like a boy scout badge. Of course, if Jimmy Naifeh thinks it is something that the citizens have to "earn" then apparently its easier to infringe the earnings path with obstacles.

5) Also note that Jimmy Naifeh claims he "earned" his "concealed weapons permit" "a few weeks ago" referencing some point in time prior to April 11, 2008. Now, its almost ironic that one of the bills that Jimmy Naifeh found it necessary to suppress was one that would have made handgun permit records confidential. Since he felt that this law was unwise, TFA decided to submit a Freedom of Information Act Request to obtain Jimmy Naifeh's handgun permit application records. [Where is Phil Williams when there is investigating reporting that needs to be done?]

It turns out that when Jimmy Naifeh told the citizens of this state that he had "earned" his "concealed weapons permit" he was wrong or he just simply lied. Either way, it was not the truth. When he made that press release, Jimmy Naifeh had not even applied for the civilian handgun permit. Maybe that is because he did not understand Tennessee law that you have to apply to the Department of Safety after you take the handgun class (assuming you actually took the class.). Whatever the reason, what Jimmy Naifeh said was false.

According to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Jimmy Naifeh's chronology is this:

- March 29, 2008, Jimmy Naifeh took a handgun certification class at Brighton Arms with Smith and Wesson Model 8906 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Well, he at least got a certificate that said he did. Maybe we will have some people who did take the class help us with this fact.

- Jimmy Naifeh issued a press release on or about April 11, 2008, claiming he had earned his concealed weapons permit "several weeks ago"

- April 21, 2008 almost 11 days after the TFA's Freedom of Information Act Request was submitted, Jimmy Naifeh applied for Tennessee civilian handgun permit with the Tennessee Department of Safety (perhaps someone at the Department of Safety alerted the Speaker's office to this oversight on his part?).

- April 22, 2008, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation completes background check on Jimmy Naifeh (WOW! They CAN do it in one day!!!)

- May 12, 2008, Tipton County Sheriff complete local background check

http://www.tfaonline.org<wbr>/downloads/naifehtdos.pdf

What can the average citizen draw from this? Many things....

Jimmy Naifeh did not tell the truth when he said he "earned" his concealed weapons permit. He may have intentionally lied on this point but really would that surprise anyone? For all we know, someone else wrote the article for him and that person shows even more recklessness for the truth than we should be entitled to expect from a "super" legislator.

Jimmy Naifeh does not understand that there is no concealment requirement.

Jimmy Naifeh does not understand that it is a handgun and not a "weapons" permit.

Jimmy Naifeh was able to get a TBI background check in less than 24 hours whereas most Tennesseans are waiting literally months for renewal permits to be issued. Of course, Jimmy Naifeh has an armed Highway Patrol Officer to protect him while the Tennessee Department of Safety processes his civilian handgun permit application so there should have been no urgency.

Jimmy Naifeh just does not get it. The Second Amendment and the Tennessee Constitutional guarantees protect fundamental rights of citizens from government infringement and abuses from tyrants, well, like Jimmy Naifeh.

Jimmy Naifeh is likely not going to loose his campaign for re-election. Yet he can still be the issue in this election year. The issue with Jimmy Naifeh is not his re-election as a legislator but his re-election as the Speaker. Tennesseans across the state can impact the appointment of the next House Speaker by demanding that all candidates pledge in writing that they will not support Jimmy Naifeh as Speaker when the Legislature re-convenes in January. That should be relatively easy to do with Republicans and Independents. With Democrats it will be necessary to get their pledges - in writing - that they will not vote for Jimmy Naifeh - at any time - as Speaker. It really does not matter who they vote for as long as it is not Jimmy Naifeh.

Its time for Tennessee's constitutionalists and Second Amendment supporters (the real ones) to make an issue of Jimmy Naifeh.

[Guest jwp]

What can I do to show my support in getting this clown removed from the Speaker's seat?

[Guest bkelm18]

I'm sending this to my Reps.

[EMTRN]

I am one county away from Tipton and it kills me how many people there think that he is the greatest thing ever.

[G27]

What can we do to get this clown out of there?

[Marswolf]

More TFA posturing. Let me know if they become relevant.

Edited July 9, 2008 by Marswolf

[TGO David]

It's not posturing if they manage to get the word out to the common Tennessee firearm owner (hunter, sportsman, etc.) that removing Naifeh would have tangible benefits. Unfortunately the people that the TFA seems to be reaching with these alerts are the people who are already on their side.

Preaching to the choir does no good. We need some grassroots evangelism, and that just isn't happening with the TFA.

[Marswolf]

It's not posturing if they manage to get the word out to the common Tennessee firearm owner (hunter, sportsman, etc.) that removing Naifeh would have tangible benefits. Unfortunately the people that the TFA seems to be reaching with these alerts are the people who are already on their side.

Preaching to the choir does no good. We need some grassroots evangelism, and that just isn't happening with the TFA.

I'm of the opinion that the TFA staff (the one guy) doesn't have much credence,.

We need grassroots. We don't need Harris. He's a useless appendage.

[Guest GLOCKGUY]

well i emailed my Representatives and he emailed me back and said that if they pick up some seats he will not be voted in for Speaker of the house i guess we will see

[Guest Len]

Interesting question. Let's see if I can take a swing at it.

1) TFA would argue it IS relevant right now and will point to various legislative successes over the years including an influential role in TN passing the carry permit law. However, let's play devil's advocate here and assume they are not relevant.

2) As any NRA member can tell you, in terms of relevance, "size matters." Membership numbers speak. I have no idea how many are members of TFA, but I would assume that if the number went WAY up, the chances of being heard would increase. (Size makes legislators notice and size brings money, which makes everyone notice.)

3) So, if size brings relevance (defined as ability to make an impact both in terms of financial resources available and number of members), how do we increase size?

4) There are close to 200,000 "natural" members of TFA out there -everyone in TN with a carry permit. There are many tens of thousands more people who are NRA members but not TFA members. There are probably hundreds of thousands of firearm owners/users in TN who are not members of NRA/TFA. There we have 3 audiences to target -1 very easy to access, another somewhat harder, and a third quite hard to reach.

So, given #4 above, how to we grow TFA?

a) TFA embarks on a fundraising campaign to raise enough money to send a membership appeal to all permit holders in the state. (I'm guessing MANY permit holders have no idea TFA exists.) A nice mail piece to a universe that size will run about 50 cents per. There's about $95,000.00.*

Also, don't forget to give every trainer in the state TFA membership materials to give to students.

With revenue raised by a) above, the next step is to target NRA members who are not TFA members. NRA will not be handing over its member roster anytime soon, so we have to work around that:

i) TFA takes out an ad in all NRA magazines. NRA can target an ad in their mags to a specific audience (ie everyone in TN -the members in TN see the ad, members elsewhere see something else)

ii) TFA appears at every NRA event in the state (Friends of NRA banquets, state conference, etc.)

iii) TFA enters into an agreement with TNSSA (NRA State Affiliate for TN) to reach out to TNSSA members (attend annual meeting, shoots, advertise on their website, etc, letter to members, etc.)

c) With revenues and increased size from the campaign to this point, TFA should have the ability to reach out state-wide (newspaper ads, local cable tv ads, etc) and hire additional staff needed to make a difference on capitol hill and make that third target audience take notice.

d) Don't forget the little things. Such as a banner ad on TGO, flyers at every gun club, range, and store, presence on every website TN shooters might visit, etc.

*How does TFA raise the $95k?

1) Appeal to firearms manufacturers and related firms located in TN. (Ronnie Barrett can write that check out of petty cash if he wanted to.)

2) Appeal to current TFA members. (If there are 500 members and everyone gave 20 bucks, there's 10k. If there are 1000 members and every one gave 25 bucks, there's 25k, and so on.)

3) It has some of the 95k on hand already, so subtract that from the total required.

4) Raffle off a really neat gun. (Legally, of course, no need to revisit that old thread!) Say Barrett offers a rifle. You think there are 100 people in the state willing to put up $100.00 for a chance at it? There's another 10k.

5) Let's say you do all this and you only get $45k. Well, you mail to half the permit list. Which half? The half that does not already hold membership in TFA, that lives in affluent counties, etc. Then as more $ comes in, you hit the rest of the list.

So, there's my marketing plan. It would take a couple of years to make happen. In the end, a stronger organization would emerge. The current economy does not help, so it might take longer. In the end you have done what you can to make citizens of TN take notice. After that, you start looking at results on the hill to keep the $ coming in.

Finally, as TFA grows, it would have to grow as an organization -creating a board of directors to set policy, holding membership meetings, making sure members have a voice in the way things go. It can't be perceived as one man's quest to change TN law. It has to be seen as a grass-roots movement of thousands of people -a wide variety of people.

John Harris runs TFA on the side of a busy law practice. He can't do it alone. If we feel TFA has a relevant mission and a valuable purpose, we should all pitch in.

Full disclosure: I let my TFA membership expire. I have issues with some of John Harris' personal political views, which should be no great surprise to anyone here who has read my posts. I have to get over the idea that my member dues help support a political agenda I don't always agree with. Once I make that happen, I'll be back in the fold. (The best way to speed up that process would be to convince me that TFA's agenda is not just John's agenda, but rather the agenda of the membership of TFA.)

Sorry for a long thread hijack.

[Guest jwp]

well i emailed my Representatives and he emailed me back and said that if they pick up some seats he will not be voted in for Speaker of the house i guess we will see

That's typical and very wimpy in my opinion. They had the seats last term, the reason he held the seat was nine Republican House members chickened out and voted for him. Had they stood their ground and voted against him he would have been out of there like last weeks crusty bread.

Press the issue with your Representative. Let them know that if they fail to deliver they'll be back working the counter at the paint store.

[Marswolf]

Finally, as TFA grows, it would have to grow as an organization -creating a board of directors to set policy, holding membership meetings, making sure members have a voice in the way things go. It can't be perceived as one man's quest to change TN law. It has to be seen as a grass-roots movement of thousands of people -a wide variety of people.

Unfortunately, I don't think John Harris wants to relinquish control to the members. It's difficult to even get basic information about the group. The deal seems to be that you pay your dues and John makes all of the decisions. No thanks, I'll work in a different way.

[Warbird]

That's typical and very wimpy in my opinion. They had the seats last term, the reason he held the seat was nine Republican House members chickened out and voted for him. Had they stood their ground and voted against him he would have been out of there like last weeks crusty bread.

Press the issue with your Representative. Let them know that if they fail to deliver they'll be back working the counter at the paint store.

Naifeh would still have won even w/o those republicans votes. They were just squishess who voted for him for favors.

You don't want a repub to say he will vote for anyone to get Naifeh out if the repubs don't take the 4 seats necessary, and I tell you that is a long shot right now. The current most powerful dems wanting Nafeh's job, and a LOT of dems are mad at Naifeh, could well be bad news for gun owners. Probably the man most working to get Naifeh's job now is Odom, he is a leftist would would be far worse than Naifeh. Naifeh blocks good legislation, but hasn't done anything to help the gun grabbers take back ground. Odom is a gun grabber and would do so.

Be wary of what you ask for, you might get bitten.

[Guest jwp]

Odom? Doubtful.

[molonlabetn]

Isn't that some kind of cheese, like Gouda?

[Warbird]

Odom? Doubtful.

Doubtful what? That he wants the job, that he is working to get the job, or that he could get the job? You have no idea who could get the job, if anyone can wrangle it away. That's all up in the air right now and much much politicking to do.

The question is not whether the dems could get some repubs to go with them to oust Naifeh, supposing the repubs won't get the four needed seats, the question is could the repubs get enough dems to go their way on a mutually agreed to conservative dem, as they won't get the dems to vote in a repub.

[Guest jwp]

Doubtful what? That he wants the job, that he is working to get the job, or that he could get the job? You have no idea who could get the job, if anyone can wrangle it away. That's all up in the air right now and much much politicking to do.

The question is not whether the dems could get some repubs to go with them to oust Naifeh, supposing the repubs won't get the four needed seats, the question is could the repubs get enough dems to go their way on a mutually agreed to conservative dem, as they won't get the dems to vote in a repub.

You need to find a better barber.

[Marswolf]

I still think it would be more likely for Republicans to find a Democrat they could live with as Speaker and vote for him as a block. Then it would only take a handful of Democrats to vote him into the position.

[Warbird]

You need to find a better barber.

Excuse me? Oh please do explain.

Edited July 9, 2008 by Warbird

[Guest David Waldrip]

Tennesseans across the state can impact the appointment of the next House Speaker by demanding that all candidates pledge in writing that they will not support Jimmy Naifeh as Speaker when the Legislature re-convenes in January. That should be relatively easy to do with Republicans and Independents. With Democrats it will be necessary to get their pledges - in writing - that they will not vote for Jimmy Naifeh - at any time - as Speaker. It really does not matter who they vote for as long as it is not Jimmy Naifeh.

So, the first person who gets that kind of pledge in writing, come back here and post and let us know.

[waynesan]

Len,

I like your style. I think your suggestions are spot on and an effort of the magnitude you suggest is very much needed. It would be wonderful if Tennessee had a grassroots pro gun organization that could be as effective and carry as much weight as Ohio, Virginia, and Georgia seem to have.

I have often thought that one of the ways to ignite a fire under TN gunowners would be if every gun store owner could have a one page flyer available on display at their stores with pertinent information concerning pending legislation with contact information for the lawmakers from the district the store is located. The TFA, NRA, or this website could post

a flyer that could be copied by the store owners around the state. It could even be updated from time to time as needed to keep

gunowners informed of newsworthy events and actions to take.

It never ceases to amaze me to observe the general apathy that is so common among so many gun owners in this state. I know a lot of gun owners and I bet over half couldn't name their State Rep. or Senator. Most don't even know who Naifeh is or what role he's played in

sabatoging the pro gun bills the last few years. Too many gun owners, for whatever reason, simply do not take interest in the political process. And that's a shame.

[Guest jwp]

Excuse me? Oh please do explain.

Just that. You need to find a better barber.

The one you have now clearly lacks a firm understanding of what is going on in Nashville.

[Warbird]

LMAO...

I wondered if that's what you meant.

I'm not going down this road with you. I tried to give some insightful analysis. I tried to be friendly and give info on some players who do want and are working for the job. The fact that you don't realize the anybody but Naifeh mantra could be worse shows me you know nothing, nada. So keep up your useless boycotts and snide remarks and keep thinking you are in the know. LMAO

Suffice it to say I have more knowledge in my big toe on politics in Tennessee or any other state or the District than you will ever have in your entire body. I've forgotten more than you WILL EVER know.

I don't need a barber. And if you knew anything about politics in Nashville, you'd know the political gossip is gleened at a couple of specific shoe shine spots, not at the barbers. Other than their nice shoe shine I have no need for that gossip either.

[molonlabetn]

Found you a t-shirt, Warbird

[Warbird]

Found you a t-shirt, Warbird

Greater than, no way. I'm sure he knows more than I do about something, but politics isn't going to be it.