‘Long guns’ removed from legislation, setting up showdown with House
Of course, 18-year-olds have the right to carry a firearm, but we are most interested in the open carry of Long Guns for all Tennesseans.
Source:
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to drop the permitless gun-carry age to 18 from 21, aligning Tennessee with a pending court order.
The panel endorsed the legislation by Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, on a 7-2 vote after amending the measure to exclude “long guns.” Removal of rifles from the legislation puts it in conflict with the House version of the bill and could force a compromise.
Note that two of the senators voted to violate the rights of 18 to 20-year-olds even in the face of a recent civil rights lawsuit that states folks in this age range have a civil right to go armed in Tennessee.
Stevens, an attorney, argued that the right to bear arms is not granted by the government.
“It’s something we’re born with as Americans, and it’s to be preserved. It’s for self-defense. That’s not a right we’re given, it’s a right we have, we’re given it by God alone,” Stevens said. “We have to protect life, and that’s consistent. It’s our number one duty as legislators.”
The bill passed along party lines with Democratic Sen. London Lamar contending that 18-year-olds shouldn’t be given the right to carry weapons, especially without a state permit.
The other Democrat isn’t named?
“We are killing people in our community by expanding access to guns. Homicide rates in our state are increasing,” said Lamar, D-Memphis. “We are leading the nation at killing folks and we are passing irresponsible legislation that allows 18-year-olds to have access to guns when they can’t even drink ’til they’re 21.”
Blood in the *checks notes* community! Also, “we” are killing people.
Firearms Policy Coalition Inc. of California sued the state in April 2021 when the legislature passed the permitless carry law, arguing it was unconstitutional because it didn’t apply to the 18-to-20 age group. The law also allows active-duty military and those who’ve been discharged to carry, even if they’re under 21.
Any firearms bill that comes out of House and Senate committees usually means it gets a floor vote. The good news is that if the bill gets a floor vote, it’ll automatically pass. Here’s the “Inside Baseball;” in Tennessee; this indicates that the Republican supermajority, including the Governor, supports it. We pray the House does the right thing and demands that Long Guns be included in the final version. The length of a gun has no bearing on our civil rights!
