March 22, 2019
The events of this week continue to demonstrate that the Tennessee
Legislature, for the 9th year in a row, is not proceeding on a path to
protect your rights as guaranteed and protected by the 2nd Amendment or
the Tennessee Constitution.
SPECIAL NOTICE – the proposed “RED
FLAG” law (Senate Bill 1178 and House Bill 1446) by Republican Senator
Steve Dickerson is on notice for Senate JUDICIARY on March 26. This
bill is a “MUST DEFEAT” bill. Call, fax and email the sponsor, the committee members
as well as your individual House and Senate members to DEFEAT this
bill. There bill is a dangerous attack on your rights under the 2nd
Amendment and has serious due process problems. It is nothing other
than a gun control measure masquerading as a “reasonable public safety
measure”. TFA shared a blog post that discusses this kind of law in detail. Many horror stories from across the nation can be found by Googling the topic.
The
Bill Status Report for March 22 (link below) shows the many bills that
had activity this week. Almost none of them are strong 2nd Amendment
bills.
Senate Bill 446 andHB187, referred to as the Second
Amendment Civil Rights Act of 2019, were supported by the TFA as
initially filed. Again, the legislature has amended the bill to the
point of substantially weakening it. It is still a somewhat good bill
but it falls short of what is needed and what was in the bill last year
or as initially filed this year. It should be on the House Floor on
Monday March 25.
Senate Bill 706 and House Bill 1264 propose to
create a second “concealed only” permit. This bill seems to be the
brainchild of a certain national gun rights group that testified in
support of it but it is opposed by TFA. As heavily amended already, the
Senate version now also imposes a fee of $65 for this second, concealed
only, permit – a savings to the applicant of $35 over the 8 year life
of the permit. See the full discussion of this bill and why it should
be either a) DEFEATED and b) amended to adopt full constitutional carry
in TFA’s blog post this week.
Senate
Bill 1010 and House Bill 1427 are intended to DESTROY the casual sale
exemption which has existed in federal law since 1968 and to adopt
UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS on all gun transfers betweem individuals
(including loans or gifts). This bill is set for hearing in the House
Constitutional Protections Subcommittee on March 27 and calls should be
made to DEFEAT it.
Senate Bill 1011 House Bill 1428 again tries
to create criminal consequences on transfers of a firearm (gifts to
minor children for example) if the person is not old enough to purchase
the firearm. Existing state and federal law already adequately address
these issues. This bill is set for hearing in the House Constitutional
Protections Subcommittee on March 27 and calls should be made to DEFEAT
it.
Senate Bill 1025 and House Bill 1224 seek to increase the
burdens not only on individual gun owners but third parties by requiring
that a third party taking possession (perhaps a sale) from an
individual who is required to get rid of their firearms because of a
domestic violence conviction. Existing law is already adequate to
require that a person convicted of domestic violence get rid of the guns
within 48 hours. What this does is it makes it harder to do so by
requiring that a third party sign a sworn affidavit that they have taken
possession or ownership and accepts responsibility. This bill is set
for hearing in the House Constitutional Protections Subcommittee on
March 27 and calls should be made to DEFEAT it.
Senate Bill
1275 and House Bill 409 (Senator Pody and Rep. Griffey) is intended to
strengthen civil immunity in self-defense matters. It is a good bill
and should be SUPPORTED. This bill is set for hearing in the House
Constitutional Protections Subcommittee on March 27 and calls should
be made to SUPPORT it.
Senate Bill 1301 and House Bill 1176 is
a bill that again attempts to create a special class of citizen that
has special privileges when it comes to firearms. TFA generally has not
taken a position on whether it is from a policy perspective good or
bad to authorize by law certain people as part of their jobs to carry
firearms. Frankly, in most instances these individuals are government
employees and in many instances it is reasonable or necessary,
particularly with those working on duty with law enforcement authority,
to be armed. However, TFA generally does oppose legislation which has
the effect of treating some classes of citizens differently relative to
the carry of firearms when not doing so as a direct function of their
on-duty obligations. Even worse, there are laws which seek to grant
special privileges to some citizens based on jobs that they previously
held or from which they have retired. This is one of those proposed
bills. The bill is set for Senate Judiciary on March 26 and House
Public Service and Employee Subcommittee on March 27. Please call both
sponsors and committee members and urge them not to create special
classes of citizens when the issue is self-defense and defense of our
families.
Senate Bill 1312 and House Bill 1476 seeks to impose
criminal sanctions on things that happen commonly – leaving a firearm in
a car, truck or boat without having it locked securely in a separate
cabinet. The bill would create a Class A misdemeanor (up to 11 months
29 days in jail plus fines and court costs) All of the fines would be
collected and used for the “domestic violence community education fund”
and the “criminal injuries compensation fund”. This bill is set for
hearing in the House Constitutional Protections Subcommittee on March
27 and calls should be made to DEFEAT it.
Senate Bill 1401 and
House Bill 545. This was a “headfake” bill which was introduced with
one purpose and then, on the day it was to be heard in Senate Judiciary,
was deleted entirely and a new bill that had absolutely no public
notice was substituted. Fortunately, the substituted bill is probably
good language but the process of putting bills on calendar for debate
when you know that the actual matter to be discussed, debated and voted
upon has absolutely no public notice or warning is a dangerous
habit of the Legislature that complete ignores transparency and the
benefit of giving reasonable notice to the public so that they can
participate in the legislative process. This bill is on notice for
House Judiciary on March 26 – maybe it will get amended to do something
entirely different again!
Please contact your legislators concerning these bills. It is
important that we keep reminding them about the bills which remove
infringements on our rights but it perhaps more important that we demand
as voters that they put a stop to any proposed legislation the detracts
to the smallest degree from our constitutionally protected rights
The bill status report and the bill calendar can be accessed through the TFA's website at this page
It
is important that you review these reports and contact committee
members and your individual legislators with your opinions, particularly
your support or opposition.
Committee compositions, calendars and members are found on the State WebsiteYou can look up your individual legislators on the State’s “ Find my Legislator” page.
John Harris
Executive Director
Joining and supporting TFA is an investment in the
fight to restore our constitutional rights and to fight against politicians who
are willing to sell their votes and your rights to whichever business interest
gives them the most money! |
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