As previously mentioned, I will not be at the Lucky Gunner shoot this weekend, for a variety of reasons. I will, however, (probably) be at the get-together being organized for this Friday, and since a few folks have already asked me some questions, I thought I would post this primer to bearing arms (and a few other things) in Tennessee.
- Permits are required to carry firearms in Tennessee. We are working on constitutional carry, but that is a bit farther down the agenda.
- Tennessee recognizes permits from any state that will give you one, but also has specific, signed reciprocity agreements with Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. You have to keep the permit on you whenever you are carrying a firearm outside of private property where you are otherwise allowed to carry.
- You are not allowed to carry a firearm during judicial proceedings, on school grounds or at school events (there are some very narrow exceptions to this that you probably will not have to worry about), while you have any alcohol in your system, at airports, or at any local/state/federal government building.
- You are allowed to carry at restaurants that serve alcohol (including "bars"); however, you are not allowed to drink alcohol, or have any in your system, while you are carrying. If you see a sign at a restaurant/bar/liquor store that reads, "MISDEMEANOR STATE LAW PRESCIBES A MAXIMUM PENALTY OF ELEVEN (11) MONTHS TWENTY-NINE DAYS IMPRISONMENT AND A FINE NOT TO EXCEED TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($2,500) FOR CARRYING WEAPONS WHERE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE SOLD OR SERVED," it is out of date, and probably not binding, but it is up to you as to whether or not you want to fight that battle.
- Effectively all signs are binding. This includes "gunbuster" stickers (a silhouette of a firearm with a red circle-and-slash over it), as well as something that is mostly like, "AS AUTHORIZED BY TCA § 39-17-1359, POSSESSION OF A WEAPON ON THIS PROPERTY, WITHIN THIS BUILDING, OR THE POSTED PORTION OF THIS PROPERTY OR BUILDING IS PROHIBITED. POSSESSION OF A WEAPON ON POSTED PROPERTY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE." It is incumbent upon you to check the entryway of any business thoroughly, as the only requirement is that it has to be "prominent" and "plainly visible to the average person" on all "entrances primarily used by persons entering the property". If you can find a regularly-used door that is not posted (like at most malls in the area), it is up to you as to what you want to do – the law is not clear, and no one has fought that battle yet.
- You are allowed to bear arms in all federal and state parks, wildlife areas, forests, etc. Knoxville and Farragut city parks are off-limits, though, and I am not sure about Lenoir City. Be advised that "greenways" often look lounge sidewalks, are not well-marked, and count as municipal parks.
- Per Tennessee Attorney General Opinion 05-154, open carry is legal, in that the state does not prohibit it; however, that opinion is not legally binding, and there are no laws or judicial cases I am aware of clarifying just how "legal" open carry really is. In the Knoxville/Lenoir City area, you probably will not encounter any problems, but if you try to open carry in Nashville or Memphis, you are on your own.
- Tennessee does have a "castle doctrine", in that you are allowed to use deadly force to protect yourself wherever you have a legal right to be, and you have civil immunity if you lawfully defend yourself from a criminal attack. This legal construct might apply to property as well, but for you out-of-towners, I am not so sure.
- You are not allowed to carry a loaded long arm unless you are hunting or on private property where you are allowed to be. And, honestly, I have lost track of what is legal to do with rifles in your car, so the safe bet is to leave them unloaded and keep the ammunition separated from them while transporting them.
- Tennessee does have blue laws – limited/no alcohol sales on Sunday, depending on city/county.
- Also, you can only purchase beer or beer-like things at grocery/convenience stores, and you can only purchase "hard" liquor and wine at designated liquor stores. No overlap. We are working on at least slightly changing that.
- The Knoxville area is big on red light revenue cameras. The intersections have to be clearly posted, but the cameras have been abused in the past.
- I confess to not being entirely versed in the restaurant scene in Lenoir City, but if you have not eaten at a Five Guys, you need to, and there is one right down the road from where most of you will be staying. A little farther down the road is Ott’s Bar-B-Q, which is definitely worth the drive.
I think those are all the high points… if you have any specific questions, feel free to sound off in the comments, and I will update the post. And if you want to arrange a get-together outside of the Lucky Gunner stuff, drop me a note and we will see what we can work out.
(NOTE: Nothing in this post is guaranteed to be accurate. This is not legal advice. You are responsible for error/idiot-checking all information in this post. If you get arrested following my advice, I will probably point and laugh.)
Bummer! I had hoped to meet you there. After reading the first post I understand completely. I already feel a little guilty about leaving the wife at the motel while I go shoot.
Maybe we can put together a ETn-WNC blogger shoot sometime later this year.
Aaaarrrghhh! I am in town now for work and leave Friday morning. I am going to miss everyone literally by hours.
I did not realize TN does not recognize AL permits. I thought it did. I may no longer be attending Lucky Gunner’s blogger shoot, or traveling to TN for that matter.
Linoge,
As I understand Tennessee state law, you have to have a permit to carry but once you have that you can carry Open or Concealed, correct?
Does that also go for Non-residents or must it be concealed for non-residents?
The idea of using my Texas Concealed Handgun License to Open Carry in another state tickles my fancy.
If that is the case, I need to take a trip to see my in-laws
Ott’s… you had to go and mention Ott’s. Boy do I miss it sometimes….
@ John Richardson: Probably should not be too hard to do – I am pretty sure the TriCity area has a few ranges to its credit. I take it you are not going to be in town Friday evening?
@ Laughingdog: Well that sucks! Maybe next year…
@ RobertM: Honestly I am not sure. As you can see, the TNDOS webpage does not indicate they honor Alabama’s permits, but the NRA and hangunlaw.us seem to indicate thta we do. I would give the DOS a ring and ask them directly before doing anything rash… It is entirely possible the state has been lazy about updating their page.
@ Bob S.: That is correct – so long as you have a permit, we do not care how you carry
.
@ Midwest Chick: And they have upgraded their building since last you probably saw them, too!
I did a little digging. The states you list are the ones with signed agreements. AL recognizes permits of stated which recognize its own. I should be good, but I sent of an email to see if I can get a little clarification.
[...] good primer on Tennessee gun laws for [...]
RobertM, the list above is only a list of states with formal agreements. That’s mainly to make sure TN permit holders can carry there. TN recognizes all facially valid permits issued by other states, according to the TNDOS web page.
Linoge–very likely. When I went there it was a little shack by the side of the road.
On a more practical note–so TN does recognize Indiana concealed carry permits (with the caveats of signage, etc.)?
I was reminded 6 times in a conversation with an Alcoa LEO that I HAD to notify said officer that I was carrying. Not exactly sure how that all works out but if, for example, you get stopped for a license check you’d be well advised to let the LEO’s know you’re carrying.
I will be there Friday evening for the festivities!
I’m no Tennesseean, but as Ted observes, it looks like Linoge misread the TN Dept of Safety website on reciprocity that he linked.
The site linked says “Tennessee now recognizes a facially valid handgun permit, firearms permit, weapons permit, or a license issued by another state according to its terms, and will, therefore, authorize the holder of such out-of-state permit or license to carry a handgun only in the state of Tennessee.” Then it goes on to say that TN will enter into written reciprocity agreements “with other states that require the execution of such agreements.”
The list Linoge gave only includes the states with which TN has a formal reciprocity agreement. But the text I quoted indicates that under TN law, a formal reciprocity agreement is not necessary for an out-of-state permit to be honored in TN. Instead, every state’s permit is honored in TN.
Not legal advice, but that sure seems to be what it says.
@ Alchemyst: Never ask a cop what the law is
. There is no duty to inform, HOWEVER you dont want to have a cop surprised to discover the guy he’s talking to is strapped. They get shooty when that happens.
Alchemyst: that Alcoa LEO was lying.
There is absolutely no requirement to notify in TN.
TN Code 39-17-1351
The only requirement is that you have your permit on your person at all times when carrying and produce it on request of any LEO.
Regards,
Pol
Linoge, some areas may still have blue laws–Portland, TN, for instance–but in more areas than not, at least in middle TN, beer is legal & readily available. Wine & liquor is verboten on Sunday, for some ridiculous reason.
@ RobertM: Seems as though some folks have corrected my misunderstanding, and you should be good to go.
@ Ted: Yup, that is what I get for skimming the page too quickly, and expecting there to be a list…
@ Midwest Chick: Oh, the shack is still there, and their new place is not a whole lot bigger, but it definitely is a lot nicer.
And from the corrected information on the TNDOS webpage, you should be good to go with your permit
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@ Alchemyst: As Wiz and Pol have said, it may be good manners / polite to let the officer know, but it is not legally required in TN, unless the LEO asks for it.
@ chris: Awesome
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@ Anon R. D.: Yeah, I paradigmed myself into thinking there should be a list, and ignored everything else… the post has been updated to reflect your corrections
.
@ Tennessee Budd: Huh. Could have sworn it was state-wide… I seem to recall not only liquor stores being closed on Sunday, but also the signs on Wal-Marts and grocery stores indicating that there will be no alcohol sales on Sunday as well… but, honestly, it has been a while since I paid attention, so my information could be very much out-of-date.
What are the rules about pistols in cars?
I believe it’s no beer sales until noon on Sunday. I know NC’s law is like that, and I wanted to say that TN changed a few years ago to that. I may be wrong. Simply put, I’m not stupid enough to get caught without alcohol come Sunday whatever the case is!
@ Michael: If you have a permit, do as you like. If you do not, the handgun has to be unloaded and the ammunition distinctly separate from you (up to and including in the trunk while the firearm is the passenger cabin or vice versa… that part is up to the cop in question, though).
@ Matthew R: I think we can just agree that blue laws, in any and all shapes and forms, are retarded
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