Don’t let their southern drawls fool you, the mayors of Chattanooga (Andy Berke), Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis are opposing pro-gun legislation by Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, legislation that “seeks to strip local governments of their power to keep firearms out of public parks.”
“When I was in the Legislature a central part of what I fought for was local control,” said Berke, who was elected mayor last year. “This gives people the chance to decide what’s best in their own community. By taking away that right, the state Legislature would be saying there’s only one way to do that and Nashville knows that way.
Source: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/jan/30/berke-against-loosening-strictures-on-guns-in/?local
Isn’t this the same kind of argument segregationists used in the 1950s and 60s? How is Berke different than the Kluxer who doesn’t want blacks and whites mixing? Sorry Berke, but there are issues that go beyond state’s rights or city rights, the 2nd Amendment is a NATIONAL RIGHT. As Campfield explained: “the Tennessee Constitution has a provision providing “the legislature shall regulate the wearing of arms” and that it “doesn’t give us the authority to delegate that down to the local governments.”
There is one trouble aspect, however;
It says handgun-carry permit holders can bring their firearms to any of those areas unless there’s a school function.
I don’t get the school function exception, why make it easier for the mass shooters by creating an unarmed environment? But if you understand the philosophy of “death by a thousand cuts”, then perhaps this is a stepping stone towards greater freedom.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, a former Knoxville mayor, reiterated his opposition to the bill. “My concern … is this isn’t just a Second Amendment right,” the governor told reporters. “It’s also a question about how we determine what the owner’s voice is and what happens to that property.” Cities and counties “bought those properties with their own tax dollars,” the governor said. “And I think that’s the proper place for a decision to be made, is according to who actually owns the property.”
With Republicans like him, who needs Democrats? It’s true that he has signed pro-gun bills in the past, but he’s dropping the ball on this one.
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Gregory Smith