July 4, 2026 marks 250 years since the founding states declared that liberty is not a gift from government, not a privilege granted by rulers, and not a favor to be withdrawn when those in power find it inconvenient. Liberty is an inherent right. It belongs to the people. It must be guarded by the people.

On this anniversary, Tennesseans join Americans across the nation in celebrating the courage of the Founding generation. They faced overwhelming power, armies, wealth, and political structures aligned against them. Yet they understood a truth that remains just as important today: liberty survives only when free people are willing to claim it, defend it, and pass it on.

That same principle has guided the Tennessee Firearms Association since its founding in 1995.

For more than three decades, TFA has worked to educate, organize, and encourage Tennesseans in defense of the full scope of the right to keep and bear arms. That right was not created by government. It was not invented by a legislature. It was not granted by a governor. It is an inherent right of free people, protected because self-defense, family defense, community defense, and resistance to tyranny are essential to liberty itself.

The Founders understood this because they lived it. They knew that a government with power to disarm the people has power to control the people. They knew that written promises of liberty mean little unless the people retain the means, training, and determination necessary to preserve it.

Tennessee’s history reflects both that promise and the long struggle to restore it. From early state restrictions to modern regulatory burdens, Tennesseans have too often seen public officials treat the right to keep and bear arms as something government may manage, ration, license, or condition. TFA was formed to challenge that premise and to help restore the constitutional boundaries that government is obligated to respect.

There has been progress. Tennesseans have seen important reforms over the years, including the state’s first “shall issue” handgun carry law and later improvements that were possible because citizens stayed engaged, informed, and active. Some of those changes actually occurred when the Democrats held the office of governor and controlled the Legislature.

For the last sixteen years, Tennessee has had Republican governors and Republican legislative supermajorities. Many candidates promised Tennesseans that, once entrusted with power, they would fully restore the rights protected by the Second Amendment and the Tennessee Constitution. The people gave them that opportunity.

The results have not matched the promises.

Now, in 2026, Tennessee stands at a critical moment. Voters will select a new governor and 

members of the General Assembly. That makes this anniversary of American independence more than a celebration of history. It is an opportunity to decide whether Tennessee will continue down the same path or choose public stewards who will actually restore constitutional principles.

Re-electing the same individuals who have had the power, the opportunity, and the constitutional duty to act — but failed — is not the solution. Electing more of the same political Establishment is not a strategy for restoring liberty. It is a strategy for preserving the status quo.

Tennesseans should not be asked to accept another cycle of campaign slogans, private assurances, and public inaction. They should not be told to keep rewarding officials who treat constitutional rights as negotiable, secondary, or inconvenient. They should not be expected to place their trust in candidates whose first loyalty is to party leadership, political insiders, or the comfort of the existing system.

It requires identifying, supporting, and electing individuals whose priorities are grounded in constitutional principles. It requires candidates who understand that the right to keep and bear arms is not a government-managed privilege. It requires public stewards who will honor their oaths, respect constitutional limits, and act with the courage necessary to restore rights that should never have been infringed.

That work belongs to the people.

Tennesseans are not spectators in their own liberty. They are not subjects waiting for permission. They are citizens, sovereign voters, and guardians of a constitutional inheritance purchased at immense cost. The future of freedom in Tennessee will not be secured by complacency, party labels, or continued support for failed leadership. It will be secured by informed citizens who demand better and act accordingly.

This election year, TFA encourages Tennesseans to look past labels and judge candidates by constitutional commitment, public record, courage, and accountability. Ask who has already had the chance to act. Ask who failed to do so. Ask who is merely repeating the language of liberty, and who is prepared to govern according to it.

The test is not whether a candidate can say the right words on the campaign trail. The test is whether that candidate will restore constitutional boundaries once in office. Some candidates are eager to share their promises but, in light of their prior actions, do those promises carry credibility? Other candidates refuse to debate or even answer relevant questions but instead evidence a disdain for disclosure unless it is totally scripted for their purposes.

As America celebrates 250 years of independence, TFA invites every Tennessean who values liberty to recommit to the cause.

Celebrate the day. Honor the Founders. Remember the cost of freedom. Then help build the future Tennessee deserves: a state where government lives within its constitutional boundaries, where the people’s rights are respected, and where liberty is preserved for the next generation.