Gov. Bill Lee is backing legislation that would do away with the requirement that gun owners get a permit before carrying in public, arguing that the state should not interfere in Tennesseans’ constitutional right to bear arms.
Flanked by dozens of Republican lawmakers, Lee announced his support for “permitless carry” legislation at a press conference Thursday morning. If approved, Tennessee would join more than a dozen other states that have stopped requiring gun owners to register and undergo safety training before taking their firearms into public places.
The legislation will also include stricter penalties on people who steal guns or illegally possess firearms. Lee acknowledged that there has been a sharp increase in thefts of guns from vehicles — a trend that many attribute to the “guns-in-trunks” laws passed in Tennessee since 2013 that have lifted restrictions on storing guns in vehicles.
But Lee argued that longer sentences will deter such thefts and lock away people who commit gun crimes.
“You don’t crack down on crime by penalizing law-abiding sentences,” he said. “You crack down on crime by penalizing criminals.”
Last year, the Tennessee Department of Safety issued just under 134,000 permits to carry a handgun. That includes new permits and renewals, as well as 19,580 of the state’s new “lifetime” permits, which allow people to register for life. Permitting raised about $10 million for the state.
As of January, about 656,000 of those permits were still valid — roughly one for every 10 Tennesseans. To get a carry permit, applicants must be at least 21 year old, or 18 if they’ve served in the military. They can be barred from getting a permit for various circumstances, including a history mental illness, felony convictions or recent participation in a drug or alcohol rehab program.
Republican legislative leaders say those restrictions will still apply, and violators can be prosecuted.
“It prevents people from carrying a gun that shouldn’t carry a gun,” said House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville. “If the penalties are harsh enough, they’re going to be deterred to do something else.”
Other GOP lawmakers also latched onto the promise of tougher penalties for gun violations. Few details were released, but they include raising the mandatory minimum sentence for stealing a gun to six months. Currently, it’s 30 days.
“When we lock those folks up that have proven they will steal guns out of cars, those gun thefts that now people will be in prison for and not stealing additional guns, that’s fewer guns on the street,” said House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland.
“Until they start making police officers small enough to carry around in your pocket, we will still need our Second Amendment right to defend ourselves.”
Debate over safety
Other backers of the legislation said little about permitless carry improving public safety. Citing state crime data, gun control advocates have argued the practice does not reduce crime — and instead makes some forms, like aggravated assault with a gun, more common.
Kristi Cornett, an activist with the Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, says permits teach people the right way to handle and carry guns.
Chas Sisk WPLN NewsActivists from Moms Demand Action, a gun-safety group, await Gov. Bill Lee’s announcement that he is introducing legislation to eliminate gun permits in Tennessee.
“I’m getting my own permit to carry,” she said. “It makes sure that people have gone through a background check. It makes sure that people know how to use their gun responsibly and safely. … So I think it’s important that we take those safety classes.”
Law enforcement groups have also frequently opposed eliminating the permit requirements. They’ve argued that letting gun owners carry without training will make the public and officers less safe.
Even the National Rifle Association has sidestepped the issue in Tennessee. Last year, it threw its weight behind a measure that allowed gun owners to do their training online — but did not eliminate the permit requirement.
That, combined with opposition from Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration, had given Republican lawmakers cover to vote down permitless carry legislation while still in committee in years past.
But eliminating permits has been a cherished goal of the Tennessee Firearms Association, an independent gun rights group. In anticipation of Lee’s announcement, it released a statement expressing optimism that the proposal will pass this year.
“The demand from citizens for constitutional carry has continued to grow,” the organization said. “Clearly, recent comments in committees … are indicators pointing toward increased support in the Tennessee legislature for constitutional carry and eliminating some of the state-imposed restrictions on citizens being able to carry a legally possessed firearm.”
After the announcement, the NRA put out a statement saying it will back permitless carry. The group described the legislation as being “part of the right to carry movement begun by the NRA 30 years ago to ensure no law-abiding citizen is ever left defenseless.”
Meanwhile, Democrats in the state legislature say they are preparing for fight.
“If a law-abiding citizen wants to go and get a permit to carry a concealed weapon, he or she can go and get the appropriate training and qualify for a permit,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair Mike Stewart, D-Nashville. That’s never been a problem. For no reason at all, the governor is saying, ‘Let’s get rid of the whole permitting process and just leave this state wide open.'”
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