My wife, kids and I are headed to the Smoky Mtns. for the Labor day weekend. We are leaving tomorrow afternoon. So I decided to do a little research on their laws regarding carrying in your vehicle. It appears, that up until 2014, it was illegal to carry a firearm in your vehicle unless you had a state issued permit. Now, as a result of new provisions in their Castle Doctrine, carrying a firearm in your legally owned private vehicle without a permit is not a crime as long as the firearm is not carried on your person. While researching this, I came across this article. The ignorance just about makes my head explode when I read this stuff:
"But some law enforcement officials have reservations about the change. Col. Tracy Trott, with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, voiced doubts during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this spring.
"I do have concerns as a law enforcement officer for guns to be more readily available in this business," Trott told lawmakers. "But my concerns are not enough for the administration to 'flag' the bill."
A 'flag' indicates to legislators that a governor, in this case Gov. Bill Haslam, is personally opposed to a measure.
Chattanooga's new police chief, Fred Fletcher, was appointed shortly after the bill passed. He has mixed feelings about the law, too.
A former top official in the Austin Police Department, Fletcher said Texas has allowed people to carry "long guns" -- shotguns and rifles -- for many years and officers "were very familiar and comfortable with that."
But, Fletcher said Tuesday, Chattanooga "is plagued by a number of violent crimes that involve handguns" and criminal gang members.
"This law will make it easier for people who are up to nefarious purposes to carry a gun, to go commit violence," Fletcher said. "That's not a news blast to anybody. If people are allowed to carry guns they will carry them both for good and for ill."
What's also not a news blast is the fact that if they are carrying handguns for ill, they are going to do it regardless of what law is out there. Good God how much more simple can it be? So if Tennessee would go back to their law prior to the Castle Doctrine, according to these people in the article, everything will be safer because the criminals who mean to do harm, will abide by the law and refuse to carry their firearm in their vehicle, thus negating the need for law-abiding citizens without a permit to worry about having to carry to protect themselves. These people have so much hot air in their heads, it's a wonder they don't float away.
Here's a link to the full story:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2014/jul/09/new-gun-rights-law-takes-effect/251789/
"But some law enforcement officials have reservations about the change. Col. Tracy Trott, with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, voiced doubts during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this spring.
"I do have concerns as a law enforcement officer for guns to be more readily available in this business," Trott told lawmakers. "But my concerns are not enough for the administration to 'flag' the bill."
A 'flag' indicates to legislators that a governor, in this case Gov. Bill Haslam, is personally opposed to a measure.
Chattanooga's new police chief, Fred Fletcher, was appointed shortly after the bill passed. He has mixed feelings about the law, too.
A former top official in the Austin Police Department, Fletcher said Texas has allowed people to carry "long guns" -- shotguns and rifles -- for many years and officers "were very familiar and comfortable with that."
But, Fletcher said Tuesday, Chattanooga "is plagued by a number of violent crimes that involve handguns" and criminal gang members.
"This law will make it easier for people who are up to nefarious purposes to carry a gun, to go commit violence," Fletcher said. "That's not a news blast to anybody. If people are allowed to carry guns they will carry them both for good and for ill."
What's also not a news blast is the fact that if they are carrying handguns for ill, they are going to do it regardless of what law is out there. Good God how much more simple can it be? So if Tennessee would go back to their law prior to the Castle Doctrine, according to these people in the article, everything will be safer because the criminals who mean to do harm, will abide by the law and refuse to carry their firearm in their vehicle, thus negating the need for law-abiding citizens without a permit to worry about having to carry to protect themselves. These people have so much hot air in their heads, it's a wonder they don't float away.
Here's a link to the full story:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2014/jul/09/new-gun-rights-law-takes-effect/251789/
