Tennessee gun owners will be the winners if a series of pro-gun bills are passed by the state legislature this session.
“Tennessee legislators have filed a rash of new bills to allow guns in state and local parks, restaurants serving alcohol and even schools, and [bills] also limiting public access to lists of gun-carry permit holders,” the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported. “Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, who is sponsoring two of the gun bills…believes the measures stand a much better chance of passing this year as a result of the new GOP majority in the legislature.”
In past sessions, House committees controlled by Democrats have killed various pro-gun bills.
“There is also a renewed push this year on bills to make confidential the identities of gun-carry permit holders at the state Department of Safety, the licensing agency, and to make it a crime for anyone, including media organizations, to publish identities of anyone with the permits,” the Commercial Appeal noted.
Indeed, the Commercial Appeal itself launched a website with a searchable database of Tennessee concealed-carry permit holders, arguing the information was a public record. Senator Norris said that the newspaper’s database, “has added to the concern by a number of people who fear for their safety—either those who have permits and may be identified as having weapons in their homes, and those who by exclusion are not identified and now feel susceptible to those who may look to see who are not permitted. And I share those concerns.”
