By: Teresa Mull
The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) is sounding the alarm on SB-765/HB-786, Tennessee’s so-called “Constitutional Carry” bill.
Constitutional Carry is a policy that makes it so law-abiding citizens do not have to ask the government permission to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
According to the gun rights organization, the bill that Gov. Bill Lee supports “contains anti-gun provisions,” including measures “to impose permit eligibility requirements on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to carry firearms.”
What’s more, NAGR reports, “Constitutional Carry would not be extended to law-abiding adults, including single mothers between the ages of 18-21, or for those who carry long guns.”
That’s not all. This bill, which NAGR has labeled “Confused Carry,” would create a new misdemeanor carry offense that Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) has championed and has tried to get established at the federal level.
“Republican legislators in Tennessee are wasting their super majority,” NAGR President Dudley Brown said in a press release. “The inability to deliver a clean Constitutional Carry bill is failed leadership.”
Another bill, HB-18/SB-318, has gained NAGR’s support for being a clean and true Constitutional Carry bill.
NAGR has been instrumental in getting Constitutional Carry passed in a growing number of states, with more on the way. Just this year, the organization realized the fruits of their labors as both Utah and Montana joined the list of Constitutional Carry states, which now numbers 18. More states, including Indiana, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas are considering adopting Constitutional Carry legislation currently.
Teresa Mull ([email protected]) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.