‘Guns-in-Trunks’ Headed for Final Passage Amid Questions

It is unclear whether the guns-in-trunks legislation would still allow employers to fire someone for keeping a weapon in their parked car.

Confusion remains around the so-called guns-in-trunks legislation as it heads for a final vote. The bill allowing loaded guns to be stored in parked cars passed another House committee Wednesday.

It would no longer be illegal to keep a loaded weapon in a car if a person has a carry permit. But the sponsor in the state House says an employee could still be fired if in violation of a company policy. A state lawyer compares it to drinking on the job.

But the Senate sponsor says he’s not so sure storing a weapon could be cause for termination. Anthony Haynes represents the University of Tennessee.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding between members about does this allow employers to retain that right or does it not.”

If no consensus is reached, Haynes says he worries how courts might interpret the legislative intent of the guns in trunks bill.

In the course of opposing the guns in trunks legislation, university officials – both public and private – discovered an old law allowing adults who are not students to keep a weapon in a car, even without a carry permit. They say they’re now more concerned about getting rid of that law than blocking a new one.