Tennessee Moms Oppose Bills That Would Repeal Permitting Requirements for the Open Carry of Loaded Handguns in Public and Revoke Local Authority To Pass Public Safety Policies
The Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America released the following statement on House Bills 2409 and 1407. Both pieces of legislation were activated in the House Finance Committee last week after initially being placed behind the budget. The Senate has already passed its version of each bill.
“We respect that Tennessee currently requires people who carry loaded guns in public to get a permit and meet minimum requirements, including passing a criminal background check and getting firearm safety training. This law applies whether you carry your gun concealed or whether you carry it openly, and it works to keep our communities safe. But House Bill 2409 would revoke this important public safety measure by allowing people who carry handguns openly to skip these requirements and carry without a permit— and without passing a criminal background check or receiving training.
Tennessee Moms urge the Generally Assembly to reject this reckless bill. Given how easy it is to buy a gun without a background check in Tennessee, this legislation would put public safety at risk, leaving no safeguards in place to block criminals and other dangerous people from openly carrying loaded guns in public spaces.
We are shocked that our state is considering dangerous bills like HB 2409 and HB 1407, the “guns in parks” bill that would override local control and force every city, town, and county in Tennessee to allow guns in their parks and recreation areas. Local governments are best suited to know the policies appropriate for each of their local parks, and we trust them to keep us safe in the places where our children play. The state legislature should not undermine local power to protect our families.
We thank our Governor for objecting to HB 1407 and we hope the General Assembly will follow his thoughtful leadership and drop this bill.”
