No fewer than dozens of firearms bills have already been introduced and more are on the way. They are sweeping in scope and are the focal point for forces that have emerged in the Volunteer State to run roughshod over the freedoms enjoyed by law-abiding citizens.
This week’s agenda follows last year’s contentious gun control special session that ended without success for gun rights opponents. The legislature convened in this special forum after the deadly school shooting in Nashville in March 2023.
But the session was little more than a showcase for anti-gun extremists to rail against constitutional rights. It ended with much protest and no success by those who sought to use it to erase a wide array of freedoms.
But now those forces are back, and in the coming days they will present and argue for a lengthy wish list of gun restrictions.
Listed are some of the more egregious attempts to stifle gun rights.
SB 1695 and SB 1927 look to eradicate Tennessee’s preemption laws that prohibit local governments from erecting barriers to the right to keep and bear arms stronger than the state’s. This prevents gun owners from enduring a patchwork quilt selection of laws that could change as one drives across town.
In this specific instance, the proposal could subject residents to a wide array of gun storage laws. This may mean a crime victim would become the subject of an investigation themselves simply for how they chose to store their weapons in their own home.
Then there’s the right to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense. Precious little is more fundamental than the freedom to protect yourself and your family from violent criminals.
But SB 2449 and SB 2475 seek to whittle away at this freedom by eradicating an individual’s right to carry a concealed weapon without first getting consent from the government.
SB 2456 targets gun hobbyists. Creating a personal firearm from scratch is a time-honored tradition enjoyed by enthusiasts since the colonial days of the nation. But certain Tennessee lawmakers want to end this practice by going after so-called “ghost guns.”
This measure would prohibit the manufacture, sale, distribution or transfer of unfinished frames and receivers, which are critical for hobbyists to enjoy their craft.
HB 1587 manages to be both anti-Second Amendment and anti-business. The proposal targets the manufacturers of several popular sporting rifles that are enjoyed by millions. Tennessee is fortunate to be the home of many in the gun industry, and these constitutionally protected businesses could be forced to shutter their operations and move out of state.
Ammunition magazines are the target of HB 1589, which sets at 10 the number of rounds that are legal to be held by one of these devices. There is no rhyme or reason for this figure, it just resonates with the anti-gun crowd.
And there’s more.
HB 1592 attempts to make a criminal out of a crime victim. It would become a crime to fail to report the theft of a firearm within 24 hours.
HB 2277 seeks to deny Second Amendment rights to law-abiding young adults. It would prohibit these citizens from purchasing weapons through licensed dealers.
Universal background checks are the goal of HB 1593. All firearm transfers would be required to be made through a licensed dealer, eliminating private transactions. This would also lead to a state database of gun owners.
And HB 1935 goes after particular semi-automatic weapons through the backdoor “features” test. Several states hostile to gun rights have enacted this system to prohibit the sale of these popular sporting rifles.
Defenders of gun rights in Tennessee will certainly have their hands full in the coming days. But it’s a fight worth fighting, and lawmakers who stand up to these overreaches deserve strong support from the people.
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