Democrats Try To Resuscitate Guns-In-Parks Debate With Roundtable At Tennessee Capitol

Some Democrats are saying the debate over guns in parks is far from over.

At a roundtable discussion Thursday at the Tennessee Capitol, the new law was held up as an example of hastily passed legislation.

Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris, D-Memphis, put together the event. He says lawmakers listened only to gun rights supporters during debate over the bill last spring.

“You know, I said at the time of the hearings, ‘Hey, let’s hear from some law enforcement folks.’ And we had one law enforcement official to come out. We could have had many more. There are many across the state of Tennessee who care deeply about this issue.”

Police were at today’s roundtable, as were several representatives from gun control groups.

The guns-in-parks law did away with city and county bans on guns in public parks. The Tennessee attorney general says the law’s wording may also mean city-owned venues, like the Ascend Amphitheater and Nissan Stadium, can’t keep out guns either.

Harris says that issue shows that lawmakers should spend more time thinking through the consequences of gun laws.