Editorial: Logic lacking in gun bills
A fast track to a bad policy: Making it easier to bring firearms to places where families gather defies common sense.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Alcohol and guns make a dangerous cocktail past 11 p.m., but they're OK at 10:59. Evidently that's the thinking behind one of four firearms-related bills put on a fast track by the Tennessee General Assembly's Hand Gun Study Committee Thursday.
The panel wants to amend the law prohibiting people from carrying guns into establishments where alcohol is served to make it legal until 11.
Committee members would also maintain a ban on people who carry handguns from drinking alcohol and a ban on handguns at establishments that have age limits for entry -- mostly bars where smoking is allowed.
In the rush to expand the territory in which people with permits may carry their handguns, the committee also recommended passage of a bill allowing guns in state, county and municipal parks -- the ballfields, golf courses, picnic areas and other spots typically enjoyed by families with children.
It would also be OK, under a committee recommendation, to pack firearms in what have been protected wildlife areas.
And while they were at it, committee members recommended passage of a measure that would create an exception to the public records law for the list of Tennesseans with handgun carry permits. It would also criminalize the publication of that list -- a provision with which Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, said he had no First Amendment concerns.
The first three of these ill-considered bills are products of a pent-up desire among some legislators and lobbyists to expand the reach of private handgun carriers in Tennessee that was given new life this year when the Republican Party gained majorities in both houses of the legislature.
The fourth is in reaction to the recent discovery by permit holders of an electronic database on The Commercial Appeal's Web site listing what has been a public record.
One hopes that the backlash over that discovery will give way to some thought about the consequences of handgun proliferation.
Do we really want loaded handguns on the golf course? At our favorite picnic sites? On the sidelines of our kids' soccer games? At the table next to us at our favorite steakhouse?
And if the presence of guns in a restaurant that serves alcohol represents a danger to the public at 11 p.m., as members of the committee have conceded, why would they think the danger disappears during the cocktail hour?
The 11 p.m. cutoff apparently was the result of a compromise. "You've got to keep in mind here that the criminal element, they don't have a time frame," said Todd, who favored no curfew. "They're going to still carry, and they will shoot you."
Next week, the bills are expected to be discussed in the criminal practices subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. They could go to the full committee the following week, and to the House floor the week after that.
That's a narrow window of opportunity, but for the safety of Tennessee families cooler heads must prevail.
if you feel strongly about it, the Commercial Appeal is asking for comments on HB 0960, that would allow Handgun Carry Permit holders to legally carry in parks. For more, including how to let them know what your opinion is, see 