Governor Signs New Law Allowing Guns in Formerly Forbidden Area
Republican Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee has signed into law the General Assembly’s most recent version of a bill allowing guns in parks. Because he had criticized the bill, there had been some confusion among observers as to whether the governor might veto it, or perhaps simply allow it to pass without his signature. Ultimately, however, he acceded to the will of the citizens as expressed by their legislators.
Under the new law, municipal governments no longer have the option to ban individuals with carry permits from bringing weapons into parks. A previous law had contained such a provision, and towns such as Memphis, Germantown, and Knoxville had all invoked that option in the past.
According to News Channel 5 in Nashville:
Haslam had made it obvious that he thought legislators should have listened more to misgivings from local communities and law enforcement agencies in crafting a new gun bill, and his own reticence about this year’s bill was probably a factor in the National Rifle Association’s not asking him to address its recent convention in Nashville.
Some of the more cynical observers of the issue, noting speculation here and there that Haslam might end up as a vice presidential running mate for this or that GOP presidential hopeful, most of whom are NRA enthusiasts, predicted that the Governor would allow the bill to become law without his signature. Few imagined that he would sign it into law outright.
But now he has, even though some of his own concerns remain and were expressed in a letter to Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell accounting for his decision. Acknowledging that the proximity of firearms to minors, particular school children, could be a major problem, Haslam noted an amendment to the bill that continues to prohibit weapon-carry in the “immediate vicinity” of school-sponsored activity.
The Governor conceded in the letter that “an unintended consequence may be operational challenges for local leaders in managing their parks in a safe, effective, and consistent matter, due to events and situations that could not have been anticipated in drafting this law.”
The legislation passed largely along party lines. The Republican majority also supported a second gun bill that struck down existing obstacles to firearm possession by persons with some history of mental illness. The new law makes it possible for those individuals to get a carry permit with the permission of a local court.
Poster Comment:
Home Rule is a curse on the people, as has been shown in Illinois.