On July 29, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued an opinion in which he said private companies sponsoring events in Tennessee parks cannot ban citizens with concealed carry permits from carrying guns.
Breitbart News previously reported that Governor Bill Haslam (R) signed HB 995 on April 24 to allow guns to be carried in Tennessee parks for self-defense. Slatery is now saying that private companies cannot hinder the exercise of Second Amendment rights safeguarded by HB 995.
According to The Tennessean, HB 995 states that “cities and counties can’t stop legal gun carriers from taking their guns to public parks.” And when private organizers with events scheduled in Memphis and Nashville said “they planned to ban guns,” Slatery stepped in to say the organizations “are not allowed to ban those guns when carried by legally licensed permit holders.”
Slatery wrote:
Since a county or municipality no longer has the authority to prohibit handgun carry permit holders from possessing handguns in public parks and other recreational facilities, a county or municipality cannot convey or delegate any such authority to anyone else, either directly or indirectly.
Tennessee Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris (D-Memphis) opposed HB 995 and responded to Slatery’s opinion by saying it “could have negative implications across the state.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.