On February 27, 2020, Governor Bill Lee announced that “he” was
proposing legislation to enact constitutional carry in Tennessee. He
did introduce legislation. It was not constitutional carry (
Tennessee does not have constitutional carry
even today). There is no clear evidence midway through his second term
that he has actually ever supported the true effect of the Second
Amendment’s mandate against governments that the right of citizens
protected thereunder “shall not be infringed.”
In his 2020 press release, he stated:
Today, Gov. Bill Lee announced that he is proposing legislation to advance the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Tennesseans by implementing a Constitutional Carry law.
“The Second Amendment is clear and concise and secures the freedoms
of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms,” said Gov. Bill Lee. “I
am pleased to announce Constitutional Carry legislation today that will
protect the Second Amendment rights of Tennesseans, while also
stiffening penalties on criminals who steal or illegally possess
firearms. I appreciate Lt. Governor McNally and Speaker Sexton for
helping to lead the way on this important issue.”
Press Release
Of course, under the separation of powers doctrine, the Governor is
in charge of the administrative branch and has no constitutional
authority to introduce legislation although he can request that
legislators do so for him. Accordingly, the two Legislators, Senator
Jack Johnson and Rep. William Lamberth, who would later file the
legislation for the Governor’s proposed “constitutional carry”
legislation were also quoted in the
press release:
“I applaud Governor Lee’s commitment to Tennesseans’ Second Amendment
rights guaranteed by our U.S. and state constitutions. This proposal
will reduce barriers to ensure citizens have the ability to protect
themselves and their families, while imposing stiffer penalties against
criminals who possess guns illegally,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack
Johnson.
“This constitutional carry package is historic because not only does
it uphold the freedoms granted to us by our nation’s founding fathers,
it also imposes mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines on bad guys who
illegally obtain or use handguns,” said House Majority Leader William
Lamberth. “I want to thank the National Rifle Association for their work
over the years in making today a reality, and I look forward to working
with Governor Lee, as well as my House and Senate colleagues to get
Constitutional Carry passed in Tennessee.”
Press Release
As things would develop, the proposed legislation did not pass until 2021 and Governor Lee
announced on his X account that he signed it into law on April 8, 2021.
Even as of today, Tennessee does not have
constitutional carry. What Lee, Johnson and Lamberth passed in 2021 was predominately a “
crime bill”
with a $20 million dollar annual cost to tax payers. Obviously,
allowing citizens to exercise a constitutionally protected right should
not cost $20 million a year in taxpayer funds.
But is Bill Lee (or for that matter Jack Johnson or William Lamberth)
truly in support of real constitutional carry? Certainly the evidence
suggests no.
First, real constitutional carry simply means a situation where is it
simply not a crime to carry a firearm, any firearm, for any lawful
purpose. Tennessee does not have that. In Tennessee, it is a crime to
carry any firearm “with the intent to go armed” anywhere in the state –
including in your own home or on your own property. (Compare, Tennessee
Code Annotated § 39-17-1307(a) with § 39-17-1308). Even the handgun
permits or the permitless carry law from 2021 are written in such a way
that they are affirmative defenses which the citizen must demonstrate.
Thus, all possess of a firearm in Tennessee “with the intent to go
armed” is a crime and the citizen is only provided a defense, in many
instances an
affirmative defense,
which the citizen bears the burden of demonstrating that their
possession of a firearm (the crime) was justified or excused. Tennessee
Code Annotated § 39-17-1308.
Of course, that is an easy statutory fix to move Tennessee from its
current constitutional cesspool to real constitutional carry but Bill
Lee, Bill Haslam nor the Republican controlled Legislature have shown
any willingness to do so since at least 2010 when the Republicans got
complete control of state government.
But is there another way to achieve constitutional carry other than
by legislation? Yes, there is! The courts can do it but that requires
all of the “sausage making” that is so common with constitutional
litigation where the state is defended by the Attorney General with an
unlimited budget fighting against (rather than for) the citizen’s
constitutional rights.
In February 2023, a group of Tennesseans were joined by Gun Owners of
America, acting on behalf of its members in and outside of Tennessee,
sued Bill Lee in his capacity as governor and Jonathan Skrmetti, in his
capacity as attorney general. These citizens sued claiming that two
Tennessee statutes were unconstitutional under the State Constitution
(Article I, Section 26) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in
Heller,
McDonald and
Bruen.
The two statutes that are being challenged are Tennessee Code
Annotated § 39-17-1311 which makes it a crime for an individual to
possess a firearm in parks, on greenways, in forest, in public
campgrounds, and generally in any public recreational area (there is a
defense in the statute that is only for permit holders and only if they
possess a handgun). The other challenged statute is Tennessee Code
Annotated § 39-17-1307 which makes it a crime to carry anywhere in the
state with the “intent to go armed.” A copy of the amended complaint
is on the
TFA's website version of this report.
Now, if Defendants Lee and/or Skrmetti believed that these statutes
were in fact unconstitutional, they could have entered immediately into
settlement discussions – but they did not. They played the “deny,
delay” games by asserting that they were not even the proper defendants
(an issue which the trial court rejected – a copy of the order is on the
TFA's website version of this report). Then, they opposed the plaintiffs’ request for
injunctive relief – again dragging the case out and with no settlement
discussions.
In October 2024, the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment.
A copy is on the
TFA's website version of this report. In that motion, the plaintiffs argued that
as a matter of law these two statutes violate the Tennessee Constitution
as limited by the Second Amendment (see the
McDonald ruling in
2010 by the US Supreme Court). At this time, the Governor and the
Attorney General are required to respond to the motion for summary
judgment. One possible response is for those two public officials, both
of whom took the oath of office “to support the Constitution of this
State, and of the United States, and an oath of office…” Tennessee
Constitution, Article X, Section1, is to entered into a settlement or
agreed order in which they bind the state to a determination that these
statutes violate the constitutions. So far they have not done that.
Another option is that they will assert that the infringements imposed
by these statutes are constitutional and that they should continue to
limit the rights of Tennesseans.
Bill Lee’s failure in six years to propose and support legislation to
enact real constitutional carry in Tennessee speaks volumes. His, and
the Attorney General’s, defense of these statutes rather than entering
into an agreed order relative to the application of the constitutional
limits, particularly after the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision,
also reveals a great deal about whether those in control of Tennessee’s
laws truly embrace the rights protected by Article 1, Section 26 of the
Tennessee Constitution and the Second Amendment’s mandate against
government infringement.
If you would like to support these individuals who are fighting the
constitutional battle in Tennessee, you can consider donating to the
Tennessee Firearms Foundation, Inc.
Equally important, you can share this information with those
candidates seeking your votes in November’s elections as well as share
it to your friends, family and social media contacts. Building
awareness is building for success.
