winning by the rules

I am a little behind the curve on announcing this, however, the United States Department of the Interior has rescinded its ban on carrying loaded, accessible firearms in national and federal parks. Starting early in January, if you are licensed to carry a concealed firearm in your respective states, you can actually carry it into any federal or national parks contained within that state. Furthermore, if your state has a reciprocity agreement with any other states, you can carry your concealed firearm onto federal or national parks contained within those states as well. All said, I would consider this to be quite the victory.
And, as an aside, this victory was not gained by threatening people with violence, this victory was not gained by shooting “jack-booted thugs”, this victory was not gained by threatening to “kill anyone who tried to further restrict our God-given liberty”, this victory was not gained by promising rebellion and revolt if you happen to get pissed off about something, this victory was not gained by drawing pointless, childish little lines in the sand, and then not standing by them… Nope, this victory was gained by working in the system, talking with congressmen and lawmakers and all of those fun little employees of ours up in D.C., and engaging in non-threatening writing campaigns, lobbying activities, and discourses with those eligible for making decisions like this. It is amazing how playing inside the rules tends to work out in the end. Threatening violence will only get you just that – violence.
However, while this is a victory for the American citizens, us Tennessee residents still have to contend with Tennessee State Code 39-17-1311, which states:

It is an offense for any person to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, with the intent to go armed, any weapon prohibited by § 39-17-1302(a), not used solely for instructional, display or sanctioned ceremonial purposes, in or on the grounds of any public park, playground, civic center or other building facility, area or property owned, used or operated by any municipal, county or state government, or instrumentality thereof, for recreational purposes.

There are, of course, exceptions, but the basic thrust of this regulation is law-abiding, permitted individuals, such as myself, are not legally permitted to carry our firearms on municipal, county, or state parks, playgrounds, civic centers, or other buildings or facilities owned by any local government. Thankfully, the recent rule-change on the part of the Department of the Interior does not care about local laws in relation to federal property, so I can still carry my firearm on federal or national parks… but still have to disarm myself when I go onto local parks. Hardly seems right, eh?
As such, like the good little non-violent, law-abiding, non-insurrectionist citizen (otherwise referred to as a “prag”) I am, I am going to continue playing within the rules and lobbying my duly elected representatives. The below is being sent off to my Tennessee Legislature representatives, and feel free to copy-paste, edit, and use it as you see fit. (To find your Legislature representative for the state House, go here, and for the state Senate, go here. Once you figure out what House district you are in, you will need to head over here to match up the number to a name.)

Sir,

My name is [NAME], and I am a relatively new resident within your district and a proud Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit holder. I firmly believe that an individual’s safety and security is his or her own responsibility, and as such, I am very excited to hear that the United States Department of the Interior has decided to rescind its 25-year-old prohibition on carrying loaded weapons in national parks (the new ruling can be read at this PDF). Thanks to this decision, as a law-abiding citizen of the United States, I am allowed to more-effectively defend myself and my family against predators, both human and animal, while enjoying the natural beauty and wonder that can be found in our nation’s expansive parks system.

However, as a law-abiding citizen of the State of Tennessee, I am still prohibited from carrying my handgun in municipal, county, or state-owned parks, as dictated by Tennessee State Code 39-17-1311.

Individuals who lawfully carry handguns under Tennessee State law undergo stringent background checks by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, local Sheriff’s Office, and receive state mandated training prior to receiving a Handgun Carry Permit. The success of Tennessee’s carry permit law is well documented with regards to the safe and lawful manner permit holders comport themselves while carrying their handguns.

Criminals, on the other hand, always look for easy targets of opportunity, and an area defined as a “gun free zone” only indicates to them that the people within it will be unarmed, and thus easy prey (see this news article).

I am writing in light of this recent decision by the Department of the Interior, to urge you to rewrite State Code 39-17-1311 in order to allow law-abiding citizens, such as myself, to fully exercise their inalienable rights to self-defense by being able to legally carry their handguns in municipal, county, and state-owned parks.

Sincerely,
[NAME]
[EMAIL]
[PHONE]
[ADDRESS]

Who knows? The precedent set by the Department of the Interior might actually trickle down a little and provide leverage for people like me to convince our representatives to follow suit. Stranger things have, indeed, happened.