What's the deal with TN Firearms Association?

ron86654 · January 24, 2015

I sent in money to join, tried to register on their forum page(unsuccessfully). Received a letter with a membership card 2 months later and a recommendation to visit their website; www.tennesseefirearms.com .

I tried to visit that website only to find it is under construction.

Are they a legitimate organization? If so, what's up with the non-response to someone who is interested in pushing for more legislation limiting the infringement of our 2nd amendment rights?

Reservoir Dog · January 24, 2015

They are for real. Good for state/local 2A issues.

I think that is their old website. Try this one==> http://www.tfaonline.org/

Oh Shoot · January 24, 2015

They are for real. Good for state/local 2A issues.

I think that is their old website. Try this one==> http://www.tfaonline.org/

Yeah, have no idea why John is keeping that other domain hosted without at least a redirect on it.

- OS

Edited January 24, 2015 by Oh Shoot

Worriedman · January 24, 2015

We are working on it.

TGO David · January 24, 2015

TFA is a legitimate org. If you can afford to support them, do so.

mikegideon · January 24, 2015

I sent them money. You got a card? :up: Yeah, they seem to suck.

Oh Shoot · January 24, 2015

We are working on it.

Suggest you put this code on the initial page of the dead site and at least it will redirect to the active one:

Place the following HTML redirect code between the <HEAD> and </HEAD> tags of your HTML code.

<meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=http://www.tfaonline.org">

The above HTML redirect code will redirect your visitors to another web page instantly. The content="0; may be changed to the number of seconds you want the browser to wait before redirecting.

- OS Edited January 24, 2015 by Oh Shoot

Garufa · January 24, 2015

They may be the real deal but they need to get their act together. At least put up a date of when the website will be open.

January 24, 2015

TFA is very much the real deal. John Harris is just about on a first name basis with very politician at the state capital.

John Harris and the core group of folks in the TFA are responsible for every gun bill that gets submitted every year.

Guns in bars = TFA; guns in parks = TFA and so on and so on.

Haslam made it a point to be at the TFA meeting when he was campaigning for governor, that is where the video of him on the record saying he would sign Constitutional carry for TN came from.

If I remember correctly, John Harris and the TFA submitted the bill for permit carry in TN. They have been a driving force in TN gun law for a long time.

Be patient when you send in membership dues. I believe John and his wife handle everything, including issuing cards. It takes time and they are EXTREMELY busy folks.

Feel free to come to a meeting on the third Tuesday of every month at the Golden Corral, 315 Old Lebanon Dirt Rd.,Hermitage, not far from Old Hickory exit on I40.

Edited January 24, 2015 by 101

mikegideon · January 24, 2015

I know what they do. That's why I sent money.

seez52 · January 24, 2015

(TFA is very much the real deal. John Harris is just about on a first name basis with very politician at the state capital.)

And some if those politicians think of "John" as a four letter word. He....he......he

Oh Shoot · January 24, 2015

I know what they do. That's why I sent money.

Yep, me too. I do TFA, KnifeRights, and NRA.

Orgs that attack on the state level are very important indeed.

TFA has been a perennial burr under the saddles of the libs and pseudo conservatives in Nashville, and no doubt at least partially responsible for every gun carry freedom we've so far obtained.

KnifeRights got us from felony and class A misdemeanors to state preempted free knife carry in two years. Even though many groused that they had somehow copped out the first year.

- OS

Edited January 24, 2015 by Oh Shoot

JohnC · January 24, 2015

They also have a FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TennesseeFirearms/

Worriedman · January 24, 2015

Suggest you put this code on the initial page of the dead site and at least it will redirect to the active one:

Place the following HTML redirect code between the <HEAD> and </HEAD> tags of your HTML code.

<meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=http://www.tfaonline.org">

The above HTML redirect code will redirect your visitors to another web page instantly. The content="0; may be changed to the number of seconds you want the browser to wait before redirecting.

- OS

Thanks Oh Shoot, I can turn a computer on and off, and that is about it. Will pass along to the guys working on the new start-up site.

Board members take no pay, (no reimbursement for travel or meals for the run to Nashville or other points, I personally spend a lot of tire rubber for that duty, John being "Bad Cop" me being "Good", I burn 95% of my vacation days at the legislature during Session) we all have "regular" jobs as well. We tried hiring "help", some of that worked out well, some was really bad. We are back to a couple of part time paid staff and the rest volunteer. Membership cards are sent out once a month to curtail cost, we try to spend the membership money on backing the right candidates. Takes a lot of green to fight in this stadium, Haslam is pretty well heeled, and his best friend the Chamber of Commerce even more so.

Like most volunteer organizations, you will get out of it what you put into it. Find the nearest local Chapter, that is where you can do some good. Pols in Jackson know they have to make the "meeting" here, we get them on record. I kiss and tell, once they come into the meeting, I talk about the results on the radio. Sitting Mayor is next in the frying pan here.

Jackson was the first municipality of over 5000 to defeat the Parks "Opt Out", I had some part in that accomplishment. A knitting club , if vociferous enough can put spin on local issues. Numbers count, letters, e-mails, phone calls, but most of all showing up at their offices and meetings and contacting folks personally, is how I have learned to affect the outcomes of issues.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Worriedman

TGO David · January 24, 2015

It's interesting to note, though, that back when TGO was just starting up we had gained a tremendous member base very quickly and apparently that caught the attention of John Harris. At one of their meetings held at Buford Tune's offices over off of Murfreesboro Road, John asked if I'd be interested in merging the two orgs. I politely declined. We've never stopped growing but I have no idea what the TFA's membership looks like.

I admit that John himself is almost single-handedly responsible for a great deal of pro-firearms legislation being introduced over the years but at the same time you've got one man doing the bulk of the work there. What happens with John retires or, God forbid, passes away? I assume there is some sort of succession plan in place but you're going to lose the big guy with the big name behind the whole thing. Does TFA even do elections for the Executive Director position?

John used to post here. I haven't seen him post in quite a while, which is a shame given the lack of traffic over there on their own site. *shrug*

Anyway... all of this leads me back to a thought I've had more than once over the years. Namely, that TGO needs a lobbying "sister org" that can leverage the size of our membership. It's hard to ignore 20,000 voices -- and that's just the people who have bothered to register. We get millions of hits on the TGO forum on a daily basis. Our audience and influence is much larger than the number of registered members on the forum.

I don't want for TGO to merge-up with the TFA because there's agility in not doing that. But I can see us being a force multiplier behind some of the same goals, and I can also see us being a counter-voice if there is ever a case where the TFA or NRA or any other org suddenly loses their minds and backs legislation that might hurt us all. Hey, anything is possible.

Joe357 · January 24, 2015

Need to fix your front page because android doesn't support flash. So, some people will get a "plugin not supported" error.

Worriedman · January 24, 2015

The succession of officers is voted on by the Board of Directors. Then we have a three member Executive Board Grand Divisions). I am the West TN Director, our East TN guy has retired, we are in process of replacing.

Can only speak for myself, I do my best to put issues that are, (not necessarily what we would like them to be) before the membership here as facts. I respect the division between the two organizations, and am simply a grunt in the fight. I work at building my own network of legislators in that den of iniquity, (have had some modicum of success) and we are slowly moving forward on removing those impediments to gun rights progress that we can. (Vance Dennis getting gone is GOOD, we shot at Sargent also but fell short on money and influence there, but he is BAD, Haslam company man all the way, is on the radar if he runs again, Barrett Rich cozied up to Haslam and they flooded that district with cash and candidates to keep Hal Rounds from winning, that was a setback for sure, but we tried).

We have a couple of Bills in progress for this session, will see if any but Mae Beavers will Sponsor in the Senate, nothing is going anywhere in the House, Beth has the Vader Death Grip on the House Members (ask Judd Matheny, you can find him in the basement bathroom closet) but as least we got her wingman Maggart...a combination of efforts to be sure, Tea party, TFA, Andy Miller, NRA, but we were up against the "A" team, and won.

In 4 years the Big Fight is coming, Harwell v. Green for Governor. Now is the time to start getting Green obligated to our way of thinking. He wants the Mansion, we can (if we just would) help him get there.

Lots to be done if folks want results and not accolades.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Worriedman

tnguy · January 24, 2015

I think some closer collaboration could only be a good thing.

tnhawk · January 24, 2015

TFA is a legitimate org. If you can afford to support them, do so.

There are many representatives in Nashville that wish the TFA were not as effective as they have been during the last few years.

TGO David · January 24, 2015

I think some closer collaboration could only be a good thing.

To be clear, I was not suggesting that TFA be our "sister org". I'm all for supporting them when it makes sense and think our members should be members of as many different pro-2A organizations as possible.

But I would like to see TGO flex it's own muscle. Not for vanity's sake but because there need to be multiple voices saying the same things to our elected representatives. The same way that it's good that the NRA isn't the only voice in D.C. representing us (a la Gun Owners of America, NFA Freedom Alliance, Jews For the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, etc.). If all you ever hear as a politician is one voice, in a way it doesn't matter how loud that voice is. But if you're hearing several voices in varying degrees of "loudness" saying the same things, the message has a bit more impact.

It's just too easy for them to dismiss one group as a bunch of fringe loons. It's harder to dismiss several groups of loons. ;)

tnguy · January 24, 2015

Well, I don't know about the exact structure but in terms of raising awareness and getting the word out, it could be a productive partnership.

Worriedman · January 24, 2015

There are many representatives in Nashville that wish the TFA were not as effective as they have been during the last few years.

There are a few NOT in Nashville any longer who wish the same thing.

mikegideon · January 24, 2015

OK, that's spooky. Just found my membership card in my mailbox. I take it back. Y'all are FAST! :)

ron86654 · January 26, 2015

Thanks everyone for the replies. I am glad that there is an organization fighting for our 2nd amendment rights. I missed this month's meeting, but plan to attend in Feb.

I did manage to get to their website and forum. I believe I know why they have no traffic on the forum. I tried to register and could not get past the Captcha.

I have registered at numerous sites that use it and this is the first instance that the Captcha security would not let me past.

I tried to sign up for the email updates and was told that my email address was already registered. Tried to sign on and was told my email address was not recognized.

Tried to use the forgot email deal and was told that my email address was not in the system.

So, can't register for forum and can't sign up for email alerts. Bummer

TGO David · January 26, 2015

Unless all of their members are having to suddenly authenticate past the Captcha mechanism just to log in (normally that's a security mechanism reserved for new user registration) I don't think that's why the forum is so dead over there.

What's the deal with TN Firearms Association?

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