On August 29, 2023,Tennessee State Senator Frank Niceley (R) spoke on the Senate Floor concerning the rights that are protected by the Second Amendment but which are infringed by the State of Tennessee.   (Niceley video)

Specifically, he addressed the issue of “imaginary, fictional gun free zones”. We want to acknowledge Senator Niceley for stating the obvious but at the same time emphasizing the fact, perhaps indirectly, that existing Tennessee laws rely directly on the perceived effectiveness and constitutionality of these imaginary, fictional gun free zones. 

Tennessee's "gun free zone" laws are a direct violation of the Second Amendment particularly in light of the United States Supreme Court's opinion in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen in which it struck down a New York handgun permit law as violating the Second Amendment.

The Supreme Court established in Bruen that, “when the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct.  To justify its regulation, the government may not simply posit that the regulation promotes an important interest.  Rather, the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.  Only if a firearm regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s ‘unqualified command.’”  Bruen at 2126.

Substantial all, if not all, existing gun free zones in Tennessee violate the Second Amendment's mandate and violate the standard for review established in Bruen.

All Tennessee Legislators take an oath of office to protect and uphold the constitutions and the constitutionally protected rights of citizens. Every elected Legislator in the state should be contacted and asked if they will stand with Senator Frank Niceley on his statements and if they will stand up, on their solemn oaths, and pledge to eliminate gun free zones in 2024.