what is on the menu?

With the Tennessee Legislature spooling back up for another year, it is time to keep tabs on the new firearm-related bills being proposed.

HB 2421: As introduced, reinstitutes the requirement that the purchaser of a firearm give a thumbprint as part of background check process and that the TBI furnish thumbprint cards and pads to firearm dealers.

What, you mean the thumbprints that the TBI has, itself, admitted that they simply do not use. Yeah, way to go, Representative Hardaway. Good use of everyone’s time, that. The thumbprint was never part of the TBI’s background check on handgun purchasers, and they only actually re-requested a print once, because it was smudged. They keep them on record for a year, and do nothing with them. Why do we have to rehash this?

HB 2422: As introduced, creates various gun show offenses, including prohibiting any person who is not a licensed firearms dealer from transferring a firearm to another person if any part of the transfer takes place at a gun show or within 1,000 feet of a gun show.

Ahh, yes, that non-existent, completely mythical, 100% fabricated “gun show loophole“. Why a thousand feet? Why not a thousand miles? Why not everywhere? Because that is exactly what the anti-rights hoplophobes are working towards. The sad thing is that there are already laws that cover the mythical unicorn “loophole” – it is illegal for a prohibited person (including felons) to possess a firearm, it is illegal to sell a firearm to a prohibited person, it is illegal to deal in firearms without the appropriate license… the list just goes on and on and on. This bill is nothing more than a straight-up abridgement of rights associated personal property, and should be treated as such.

HB 2558 / SB 2538: As introduced, reduces the delay from 90 to 60 days for an applicant receiving a renewed handgun permit after applying for such handgun permit within six months from the handgun permit’s expiration date.

Given that the Tennessee Department of Safety is having a hard time meeting the 90 day cut-off, I am not entirely sure this is a good idea. Personally, I firmly believe that the DMV should give me my permit the day I apply for it, and then if any problems arise, they know where to find me, but given that we have to send away for our permits and the folks at the DOS have to do all the paperwork before it can be sent back to us, reducing the time they have will increase their error rate. In 2008, the DOS had to hire more people to process handgun carry permit applications just from the increase in numbers… decreasing legislatively-mandated turnaround times will just aggrivate the problem. (Again, this is not to say that I disapprove of us law-abiding citizens getting our rights-abridging permits faster, just pointing out the logistical problems with this idea.)

HB 2565 / SB 2389: As introduced, adds as a factor by which a defendant’s sentence can be enhanced that offense was committed while in possession of or using a firearm and, at time of the offense, the defendant had a handgun carry permit.

Errors in the Legislator’s scribe’s summary of the bill aside, this bill would increase the amount a criminal can be sentenced by based on the evidence that they had or used a firearm during the crime, and had a handgun carry permit. Honestly not seeing the point. If a crime was committed, punish him accordingly. If the punishment results in the individual losing his or her permit, so be it. But if the Legislature passes this bill, it will be lumping handgun carry permit holders in general with individuals with criminal histories, ringleaders of criminal gangs, mass/serial criminals, and other unsavory types – not exactly the associationI want my representatives to be making.

HB 2567 / SB 2390: As introduced, allows person without handgun carry permit to transport rifle or shotgun in privately-owned motor vehicle provided there is no ammunition in the chamber or cylinder and no loaded clip or magazine in the weapon or in close proximity to the weapon.

I could have sworn this was already taken care of last year, but there is absolutely no reason why anyone should not be able to carry an unloaded long gun in their privately-owned vehicle, with or without a handgun carry permit. Hell, there is no reason why anyone should not be able to carry a loaded long gun in their vehicle. This is yet another instance of the government spelling out our lives for us, rather than spelling out their jobs.

HB 2694: As introduced, repeals statutory prohibition relative to possession of a firearm where alcoholic beverages are served.

Given that something similar got overturned not too long ago, the law-makers in Nashville had better get it right this time around. Simply striking that part of the Tennessee State Code seems about sufficient… which, coincidentally, is exactly what this particular bill does – it simply removes the prohibition against carrying in establishments that serve alcohol, outright. No stupid “restaurant/bar” differentiation, no “# of meals per week” nonsense, no hours, no further idiocy. Just gone. I can hope, but this one is probably not likely to make it, considering how difficult it was to get the previous bastardized version passed.

SB 2391: As introduced, removes the authority of the governor to commandeer or limit the sale or transportation of firearms, ammunition, or firearm or ammunition components during a state of emergency, major disaster, or natural disaster.

The governor never should have had this power, so it only stands to reason that it should be taken away from him. Last year, we passed the legislation to keep the governor from confiscating firearms during a time of crisis (like what transpired after Katrina), it seems reasonable that we should go for the rest of the equation this year. Furthermore, if someone is left defenseless during a time of crisis, why should it be illegal for neighbors, friends, or family to arm them, if both parties are amenable to the agreement? Seems like exactly the kind of thing people should do for one another.

SB 2528: As introduced, authorizes department of safety to make available to public through an electronically searchable database whether person has an unrevoked handgun carry permit based upon information provided by requester; authorizes sale of permit holder addresses in bulk; and makes all other handgun carry permit information confidential.

Oh hell no. Basically, this bill would mandate that the state put up a system similar to the Commercial Appeal’s privacy-invading database, in addition to making the addresses of handgun carry permit holders available to mass marketers and other snailmail spammers. Sorry, but I did not sign up for even more useless dead trees showing up in my mailbox when I applied for my permit.
These are all of the new bills being proposed in the Tennessee Legislature so far this year. Given the two-year cycle of the Legislature, I am not entirely sure how the older-but-unresolved bills are handled – anyone have any insight on that? As always, please contact your duly-elected representatives and let them know what you think about the bills working their way through committees, especially if your legislators’ names are on them. I will try to keep tabs on the bills and put up posts on a weekly basis or so, but if anything interesting crops up, feel free to let me know.