Legislative Oaths, Constitutional Duties, and the Duty to Repeal Unconstitutional Firearms Statutes
In August 2022, a three-judge panel in Tennessee unanimously ruled in Hughes v. Lee
that two long-standing Tennessee firearms statutes are unconstitutional
under the Tennessee Constitution (as limited by the Second and
Fourteenth Amendments). The unanimous ruling declared as
unconstitutional
- T.C.A. § 39-17-1307(a) – commonly referred to as the “intent to go armed” statute
- T.C.A. § 39-17-1311 – commonly referred to as the “parks” statute
However, the defendants in that case, Governor Bill Lee and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti,
have appealed the ruling. The State’s appeal asks the appellate courts
to overturn the trial court decision and to leave these constitutional
questions to the discretion of the General Assembly.
According to a published report
by Kelly Jackson in TruthWire News, Attorney General Skrmetti recently
addressed this issue before a group of Tennessee citizens and reportedly
acknowledged that these statutes are likely unconstitutional,
while explaining that the State’s appeal is based on technical and
procedural grounds rather than a defense of the statutes’
constitutionality.
The Legislature’s Independent Authority — and Constitutional Responsibility
Regardless of the outcome or duration of the appeal, the Tennessee General Assembly has full and independent authority to repeal or amend these statutes immediately.
Further, since the Republicans hold a super majority in both
Legislative houses, legislative action can occur in weeks that would
repeal each of these statutes. On the other hand, the appeal by Lee and
Skrmetti can take years.
Every member of the General Assembly has the power to:
- Introduce legislation repealing or amending unconstitutional statutes;
- Aggressively co-sponsor such legislation when introduced by others;
- Insist that their peer legislators, particularly those serving on
the committees and subcommittees, will immediately move curative
legislation to the floor;
- Demand that bills on these issues be brought to the floor in a
“recall petition” for consideration by the entire House or Senate if the
bills are (as they have been in the past) killed or stonewalled i n
committees or subcommittees by as few as three votes; and
- Each legislator also has the right to vote to override any likely VETO by Bill Lee of legislation that they may pass.
To date, only one legislator has filed a bill
addressing these unconstitutional firearms laws. One! Just one has acted
on the constitutional duty.
The Oath of Office Is Not Symbolic – Do Not Let Them Ignore It
Article X, Section 2 of the Tennessee Constitution requires every legislator to take the following oath, in part:
“I will not propose or assent to any bill, vote or resolution, which
shall appear to me injurious to the people, or consent to any act or
thing whatever, that shall have a tendency to lessen or abridge their
rights and privileges, as declared by the Constitution of this State.”
Each legislator also swears to support both the Tennessee Constitution and the United States Constitution.
This oath is not ceremonial. It is a binding constitutional duty. It
is a oath sworn to by each before they ever took their first official
act as a public steward.
An Affirmative Duty to Act
When a statute has been declared unconstitutional by a court of
competent jurisdiction, and when state officials themselves acknowledge
that the statute is constitutionally suspect, legislators do not have discretion to “wait and see.”
Their oath imposes an affirmative duty to:
- Remove unconstitutional statutes from the books; or
- Amend them promptly to bring them into compliance with constitutional guarantees.
This duty applies with particular force to statutes that burden the fundamental right of self-defense, which lies at the core of the Second Amendment.
Failure to Act Is a Breach of Trust
Any legislator who:
- Refuses to introduce legislation repealing or amending the statutes invalidated in Hughes v. Lee; or
- Declines to actively co-sponsor and support such legislation once introduced
violates the spirit and substance, if not the actual core, of their oath of office.
More plainly, such inaction constitutes a betrayal of public stewardship and a failure to defend the constitutional rights of the citizens they were sworn to serve.
The Path Forward
TFA members and supporters should understand this clearly:
- Courts have done their job by identifying unconstitutional laws.
- The Executive Branch has chosen to delay final resolution through
appeal and it has chosen to use your tax dollars to provide funding for
its actions.
- The Attorney General has chosen to pursue technicalities to preserve
statutory frameworks which are clearly constitutional suspect if not
admittedly defective.
- The Legislature has known about the claims in the Hughes v. Lee case
for more than 2 years and has known for months about the unanimous
trial court ruling.
- The Legislature has had bills before it in prior years that would
have avoided the necessity for this litigation, including the appeal,
but even with 16 years of a Republican super majority it has refused and
failed to address the harms to your constitutionally protected rights.
- The Legislature has the power and the duty to fix this now.
In 2026, every legislator will be accountable—not only to voters, but
to the oath they swore before God and the people of Tennessee.
Further, Tennessee Firearms Association is sending a copy of this memo to every Legislator. The Tennessee Firearms Association has and will continue to demand fidelity
to that oath and will not accept delay, deflection, or procedural
excuses where fundamental constitutional rights are at stake. However, it
is important for you to contact your individual legislators to demand
that they take action now by filing legislation. There are 132
legislators and there should be 132 bills to fix the constitutional
crisis. Look up your legislators here: Find My Legislator
But, you don’t have to stop there. Let your voice be heard by the Leadership and the Attorney General too:
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