This can't be right for 2 good southern states???
Due to both slavery, Reconstruction and Jim Crow, southern states had the first "Saturday Night Special" bans, pistol bans, pistol purchase and possession permits, bans on carry, etc. Don B. Kates and Gary Kleck have written extensively about this. At one time, Tennessee had CLEO sign-off for permission to purchase with up to a fifteen day waiting period. I bought two handguns under the permit system: you had to take the paperwork from the dealer to the police station for the chief's signature or to the county sheriff's office for the sheriff's signature. Tennessee dropt the state permit when the federal Brady Act was passed. The idea that southern states had lax gun laws is a Yankee fantasy entertained by people who think "Deliverance" was a documentary.
For info on traveling with firearms in Tennessee the best bet is to check with Tennessee Firearms Association at
http://www.tfaonline.org/ aka
http://www.tennesseefirearms.com/
To the best of my layman's opinion (remembering, legal advice on the Internet is worth every penny you pay for it). :
Tennessee has a "going armed" statute that forbids the public carry of weapons open or concealed for offense or defense. The exception is the Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit that allows open or concealed carry of a handgun for purposes of defense. If one has a THCP concealed carry is preferred.
Carry of a loaded weapon in public would require a either a THCP or a out-of-state permit or license currently recognized by Tennessee under reciprocacy (sp?).
Otherwise, the firearm is required by state law to be unloaded, cased, locked in the trunk with ammo in a container seperate from the case during transport (seperate "container" for ammo may be the box it came in). Without a recognised carry permit, loaded gun in a car (console, glove box, etc) is a no-no.
Under the federal Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986, a traveler can transport a cased, unloaded firearm locked up (trunk of car, etc.) as long as it is legal for them to possess a firearm in their state of origin and state of destination, including passing through Tennessee or any other state. (Massachusetts, last I heard, responded to the FOPA by declaring it does not want gun owners to stop in their state: if you're going to Maine to hunt, plan on driving through MA without stopping.)
Tennessee recognises an absolute right to have gun in one's abode or place of business for defense. Rights of out-of-state travelers in rented lodges is iffier. The attorney general opinions and court supreme court rulings are supportive of the right to own guns for all lawful uses from defense of home to protecting livestock from predators.
Practically speaking, local enforcement of the "going armed" statute depends a lot on whether there is criminal intent or if the weapon is possessed or used in furtherance of a criminal enterprise. Memphis and Nashville have a typical "big city" attitude though, and their newspapers allow searches for names of carry permit holders on their websites as a "public service" because people need to be warned about us eee-vile carry permit holders.
