There are places in Chattanooga where I’m not allowed to carry my gun, so this makes me happy:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Cities in Tennessee could be forced to remove bans on handguns in their parks if a push underway in the state Legislature succeeds.
Gun rights advocates and several lawmakers are throwing their weight behind a bill that would overturn local restrictions on handguns in public parks, five years after cities and counties were told they could opt out of a state law that opened parks to handgun owners.
Republican state Sen. Stacey Campfield, who has filed a bill to repeal the bans, says the 2009 law has created uncertainty among gun owners as to where they can carry.
But Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has asked lawmakers to vote down the proposal, arguing that it runs against efforts to protect the public and the ideal of local control.
“Put simply, I believe guns in Nashville parks is a bad idea,” Dean said in a letter sent Tuesday to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The Metro Council, the locally elected legislative body, made the right decision to opt out of the state law allowing guns in parks.”
Campfield said Wednesday that he believes the bans are confusing, unconstitutional and unsafe.
“We have the right to legislate gun laws,” he said. “The question arises whether we have the right to delegate that authority.”
So far, only Campfield has signed on to the bill. A companion measure in the House has drawn 20 co-sponsors.
The Tennessee Firearms Association has not endorsed the measure, but the organization generally supports repealing local gun bans.
The bill has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which could take the measure up as soon as next week. Debate in the House has not yet been scheduled
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/22/tenn-bill-would-remove-bans-on-guns-in-parks/4788589/
We should all endorse that measure, these gun bans are ridiculous and only benefit criminals.
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Gregory Smith