State Senate Passes Bill Opposing Federal Firearm Regulation

The state Senate passed a bill Wednesday to allow local gunmakers to sell their weapons to other Tennesseans regardless of federal law. The bill’s sponsor says it’s a display of Tennessee’s sovereignty to lawmakers in Washington.

Senate sponsor Mae Beavers says the federal government is increasingly encroaching upon the rights of individual states.

The U.S. Constitution lets the federal government regulate commerce between states. But Beavers argues guns both made and sold in Tennessee don’t qualify.

“We’re saying that the federal government doesn’t have a say on things that are manufactured and sold in Tennessee that do not leave this state under the interstate commerce clause.”

Some opponents charged the bill could be dangerous, since it puts Tennessee in conflict with federal law. But Beavers argues any gunmaker here will understand the risks of defying federal regulation.

The measure has already passed the state House.

EXTRA:

Beavers says there will be a “test case on this kind of legislation. We think that will come from Montana.” She says the federal government has overstepped its bounds, which “results in a usurpation of the state’s sovereignty authority.”

Senate Democratic Leader Jim Kyle argued the bill was a political statement, and should’ve been a non-binding resolution, not a law, because “someone’s going to read it.”

“Someone’s going to think they can do it, and someone’s going to have an ATF officer one day in a blue windbreaker knock in their door and ask them what they’re doing. And they’re going to say ‘Oh! But the Tennessee Legislature said I could manufacture guns and just mark them “Made in Tennessee,” and I’m fine.’
“Well, that’s the first thing wrong with this bill. The second thing wrong with this bill is we’re buying a lawsuit right here. We’re expending our resources of our attorney general’s office.
“We’re now joining a lawsuit and spending our time and spending our money on a political statement.
“This is a political statement.
“I agree, if we want to make a political statement that says that this is what the federal government shouldn’t be doing, we should send that to the president, send that to the congress, send that as a resolution.
“We did that earlier today on Cap and Trade if I recall. Made a statement and said ‘This is what we think and this is where we are. This is where a majority of citizens are,’ and nobody got hurt by that.
“Nobody got their door kicked in. Nobody had an opportunity to go to a federal penitentiary. Nobody got the opportunity to personally meet an ATF agent – who have told us that this law is a nullity as far as they are concerned.
“Now there comes a point when you can take making your statements too far. Making this a law is too far.”

Earlier: Senate Amends ‘Social Host’ Bill
Later: House Votes Down Relaxing Tennessee’s Water Quality Standards