Appeals Court Reverses Ruling That Upheld TN Housing Authority Gun Ban

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville reversed and remanded a lower court decision Friday that upheld a Columbia Housing Authority gun ban.

The case was brought on behalf of Columbia Housing Authority resident Kinsley Braden, and was supported by the Second Amendment Foundation.

Judge Frank G. Clement, Jr. made clear that the reversal was a result of the Supreme Court of the United State’s decision in NYSPRA v. Bruen (2022).

Clement wrote, “(I)n light of the Supreme Court’s most recent decision in Bruen and keeping in mind the presumptively unconstitutional status of Columbia Housing’s policy based on the Supreme Court’s decision in Heller, we conclude that a total ban on the ability of law-abiding residents—like Mr. Braden—to possess a handgun within their public housing unit for the purpose of self-defense is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.”

He added, “Because Columbia Housing is a government entity acting as a landlord of property it owns, it must establish that its leasehold restrictions on firearms is ‘consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.’ The lower court was reversed and the case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the appeals court ruling.”

The Second Amendment Foundation’s Alan Gottlieb commented on the decision. “We’re delighted with the appeals court ruling,” he said. “This underscores the far-reaching effect of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen opinion. Mr. Braden was evicted from the public housing complex because he had a firearm. The court properly held that such a prohibition is a non-starter. Rulings like this make it clear the Second Amendment means what it says.”

The case is Columbia Housing & Redevelopment Corp. v. Kinsley Braden, No. 16922 in the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.