TN Members - Act NOW on Restaurant Carry

[Golden Saber]

TN - Meet in Nashville, Wednesday, 4/20 @ 11:30

TENNESSEE FIREARMS ASSOCIATION
LEGISLATIVE ACTION COMMITTEE

URGENT UPDATE

We were advised on April 14, 2005, that we now have 52 sponsors on HB2225. One thing that is very interesting is that of that number 43 are Republicans and only 9 are Democrats. Since I have sent several emails to all House members and I know many of you have been calling, I cannot explain the extreme difference in the sponsorships unless you infer that many of the Democrats DO NOT support the purpose of HB2225. Is that what they said in 2004 when they asked for your votes?

Here is the list of sponsors as of April 14, 2005

CO-PRIME SPONSORS ON HB 2225

Democrats
Buck, Prime Sponsor
Fraley
West
Pinion
Moore
Tidwell
Shepard
J DeBerry
McDonald

Subtotal - 9

Republicans
Hargett
Stanley
Pleasant
Todd
Lynn
Maggart
P Johnson
Newton
McDaniel
Harrison
Overbey
R Johnson
Hill
Cochran
Hawk
Gresham
Hensley
Mumpower
Dunn
McKee
McCord
Niceley
Matheny
Roach
Strader
Bunch
Kelsey
Casada
McCormick
Eldridge
Sargent
D Davis
Harwell
C Johnson
Crider
Swafford
Montgomery
Sharp
DuBois
Harry Brooks (Knox)
Rowland
Clem
Watson
Subtoal - 43

I have had several calls and emails with House members (co-sponsors) and many, many emails from those of you on this list also reporting back to me the conversations that you are having with your individual legislators. I know that we have had several legislators who said that they support HB2225 but who have not, for whatever reason, signed on as a co-sponsor.

At this time NRA and TFA are considering sponsorship on HB2225 or lack thereof as a RECORDED VOTE on a Second Amendment bill. It is important for Legislators to know that this is not just a request but their action on this bill will be counted as a Vote on legislation. Why? It could be taken into consideration in future election cycle ratings.

ACTION PLAN
This is consistently the top issue reported to me by TFA and NRA members over the last few years. However, even with 52 sponsors (more than enough to pass the bill on a floor vote), it is still possible that the House Judiciary's "Constitutional Protections" subcommittee (or is it scrub committee) could try to kill this bill in subcommittee on April 20, 2005 (meeting is at 11:30 am).

There are only five legislators on the Constitutional Protections subcommittee - 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans. The two Republicans (Newton and Cochran) are cosponsors on the bill. NONE of the Democrats have co-sponsored the bill nor have they shown any interest in the bill. These three Democrats are majority leader, Kim McMillan (Clarksville), Henri "no pledge" Brooks (Memphis) and Janis Sontany (Nashville). These three Democrats are considered by TFA as poor supporters if not outright adversaries of the Second Amendment based upon their voting records.

Here is what we are doing now as our action plan for the next week.

FIRST, I am asking you to do everything possible to flood the legislature (including Naifeh's office, the House Judiciary's office, and the offices of Kim McMillan, Henri Brooks and Janis Sontany, with telephone calls, emails and faxes requesting that they allow HB2225 to go to a FLOOR VOTE. I don't care if these three legislators want to speak against or even vote against the legislation on the floor of the House, I just want to see the bill have its chance on the Floor of the House of Representatives and not be killed against the will of the House majority in an off-the-record subcommittee vote.

SECOND, any of you who can, please consider coming to the House Judiciary Constitutional Protections Subcommittee hearings on APRIL 20, 2005, at 11:30 a.m. at the Legislative Plaza (probably LP30 or LP31) to show support for this bill. The committee room can easily hold 50 spectators and we want to overflow into the halls.

THIRD, I am also asking each of you to call your legislators (House and Senate) and ask them - if they are not scheduled to be in another committee meeting at that time - to come to the Subcommittee hearing to speak in favor the bill or at least be present as an interested co-sponsor of the bill.

We need all of the pressure possible to force these three Democrats to acknowledge that the majority of the House of Representative support this bill and are ready to vote for it.

Thank you for your time.

John Harris
Executive Director, Tennessee Firearms Association

 

[MajMikeW]

Question re CCW

Here's a question I have, should business owners be allowed to overrule state Constitutions and state laws (not to mention THE Constitution) authorizing concealed carry simply by posting a 'gun free' sign in their window?

Isn't this like saying they could post a 'whites only' sign if they don't like blacks? I understand the 'it's their business' idea, but we have a host of laws effecting them which they are not allowed to just ignore, why is this any different?

MajMike

 

[The Rabbi]

The state law specifically makes an exception for store owners.
The law is not racially motivated nor does it have disparate impact.

I think businesses have every right to post no firearms signs and I have every right to spend money elsewhere.

 

[Golden Saber]

We're now up to 58 cosponsors. There is a rumor that Rep. Henri Brooks (D-Memphis) may be willing to pass the bill out of subcommittee. In addition, here is a message that just came in from the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division.

***********************************************************************

Please Attend Tennessee House Constitutional Protections Committee Hearing!

HB 2225, legislation allowing Tennessee’s 140,000 handgun carry permit holders to carry self-defense firearms into restaurants and other establishments that serve alcohol, is scheduled for a hearing in the House Constitutional Protections Subcommittee. The hearing is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 20 at 11:30 a.m. at the State Capitol.

It is essential for citizens to be present at the meeting to show their support for HB 2225. The Senate companion bill has already passed the full Senate by a vote of 29-3. However, the bill faces an uncertain fate in the Subcommittee despite it currently having 58 House co-sponsors. It needs only 50 votes to pass the full House.

HB 2225 prohibits a citizen who is carrying a firearm in these establishments from consuming alcohol. In recognition of private property rights, it also allows property owners to post a notice prohibiting firearms in their establishments.

There are currently 33 states with laws similar to what is proposed in HB 2225. These include the Tennessee border states of Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Virginia. None of these 33 states have realized any problems, as evidenced by the fact that there have not been any attempts to amend or repeal their laws. This is an extraordinary record of responsible conduct made by law-abiding citizens carry firearms into these establishments tens of millions of times each year.

Establishments that serve alcohol are not immune from life-threatening violence. Because of this, citizens deserve the opportunity to defend themselves and their families when they dine out. Under current law, firearms must be stored in unattended vehicles. If vehicles are stolen or broken into, these firearms fall into criminal hands. The passage of HB 2225 is essential in order to allow law-abiding Tennesseans to defend themselves and to ensure the safekeeping of firearms by authorizing citizens to maintain custody.

Opponents of this legislation have made emotional claims that HB 2225 will endanger the public. They have had over three years to find evidence supporting their claims. Their silence speaks volumes. They have also claimed that there will be increased insurance premiums for property owners and dangers to law enforcement personnel. They have found no evidence of this in any of the 33 states.

One thing is certain - criminals and others intent on violence are already illegally carrying firearms in these establishments. HB 2225 returns private property rights to establishment owners by empowering them with the ability to allow handgun carry permit holders to carry self-defense firearms on their property.

Please attend the House Constitutional Protections Subcommittee meeting to show your support for this critical legislation!

 

[Golden Saber]

The outcome.

This afternoon's alert from John Harris of the Tennessee Firearms Association:

************************************************************************

TENNESSEE FIREARMS ASSOCIATION, INC.
LEGISLATIVE ACTION COMMITTEE

I attended the House Constitutional Protections Subcommittee today for the
vote on HB 2225. I am encouraged to have met and talked with many TFA alert
participants and wanted to thank those of you who could make it - even from
Memphis and Knoxville - on such short notice! As an extra bonus, those in
attendance also had the change to meet, talk with and have their photographs
taken with Darren LaSorte, NRA-ILA for Tennessee.

Rep. Frank Buck, the sponsor on HB2225, did a very good job of presenting
the bill for the benefit predominately of 3 of his Democrat peers who
appeared predestined to vote against the legislation no matter what was
said. Oddly enough, Rep. Henri Brooks asked to go into recess so that an
assistance police chief from Memphis could speak against the legislation on
behalf of the Chiefs of Police association. (Note - this officer was subsequently
identified as Deputy Chief Jim Tusant of the Memphis Police
Dept. -- Golden Saber)

After very little discussion, the vote on the bill was 2 in favor
(Republicans Chris Newton and Jerome Cochran) and 3 against (Democrats Kim
McMillan, Henri Brooks and Janis Sontany). That would normally kill the
bill. However, with 60 sponsors we have potentially another option and that
is to try and bring the bill into full committee or even to the floor.
There are procedures to do just that but these procedures are seldom used by
legislators to circumvent the committee system.

We will be preparing a list of the 39 legislators who have refused the
opportunity to sponsor this bill at this time. We need to get abother 15 or
so to sign on as sponsors before fully evaluating our options.

Any of you who are attorneys or who are interested in legal research, I
would appreciate your comments on whether and to what extent the United
States Supreme Court decision in Baker v. Carr
http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/25/resources might be used to argue
that Tennessee House subcommittee system is an unconstitutional deprivation
of a representative form of government.



John Harris
Exec. Dir - TFA

 

[The Rabbi]

Any of you who are attorneys or who are interested in legal research, I

Gee, a quick glance at Baker v. Carr (and the name last entered my consciousness in 7th grade history with Mr. Allison in 1974) suggests this idea isnt going to go somewhere. You mention yourself that there are ways to redress the committee's decision.
I trained as a paralegal and did pretty well with research so maybe there is more going on than at first blush.

 

[Golden Saber]

Possibly so, Rabbi. Keep in mind that I'm just forwarding his info.

Golden Saber

 

[BryanP]

I just heard on the news that this bill failed today.