Get Involved: TN 2A Bills Happening This Week

A lot has happened since we last sent one of these emails. The Canadian Government managed to finally eradicate the Freedom Convoy by eliminating more Canadian freedoms. After a handful of opportunistic law changes, hundreds of arrests, hundreds of seized vehicles, countless frozen bank accounts, and promises to hunt down the tens of thousands of citizens who supported the Freedom Convoy, Justin Trudeau declared victory over his own people. Then, he condemned the Russian Invasion of Ukraine because, "Canada will always stand against Authoritarianism."

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government dropped its restrictions on private gun ownership, began arming its citizens with automatic rifles, and broadcasted information about how to disable tanks with Molotov cocktails. And even under the choking flood of Russian and Ukrainian propaganda, we can still see some clear examples of regular citizens using mere rifles to effectively stop and slow military invasion forces.

Earlier this week, President Biden began his State of the Union Address praising the actions of the Ukrainian people who are fighting back against mechanized forces using small arms. And then, moments later, he demanded swift action to disarm the American people. As Democratic legislators, wearing large Ukrainian flag pins, applauded and laughed, he decried "ghost guns," demeaned the ability to make guns at home, and then demanded a ban on assault weapons, smirking, "You think the deer are wearing Kevlar vests?"

But with the midterm elections coming soon, we think these demands might not turn into immediate action. Many officials running for reelection will likely want to avoid highlighting the obvious contradiction of sending arms to Ukrainian citizens while banning them from American citizens. And so, now is a fantastic time to push for more gun freedom, especially at the state level.

As always, we recommend that you find the groups local to you to get involved in this fight. Organizations like Georgia Carry, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, and Missouri Firearms Coalition are keeping track of the legislation in their respective states and helping citizens be more involved in getting bills passed.

First, a bill needs at least one sponsor in the House and one in the Senate. Often a bill will have multiple co-sponsors, but these legislators usually have a lot of different irons in the fire. They need encouragement to push their least popular bills, such as gun bills that attract negative press or pushback from more moderate centrist Republicans.

They have to exert a lot of time and energy to move those bills through subcommittee and committee hearings before they reach the main floor and can be voted into law. Phone calls, emails, and personal visits actually do a lot to move the needle. This is why Bloomberg and other groups pay people to sit in committee meetings wearing Mom's Demand Action shirts. It's very effective for changing the tone, and changes can happen fast.

The most effective thing is direct face-to-face interaction with your representative, followed by presenting supporting testimony at committee hearings, calling committee members to ask for their support ahead of time, and then sending emails. Personal emails work the best; copy-paste spam is easily ignored. Interestingly, calls to encourage reps are rare, and effective.

Currently, some great bills are winding their way through the process here in Tennessee, and each offers a lot of opportunity for everyone, but particularly Tennesseans, to be involved in pushing legislation along. We've been working on a few things here and there, but one of the best things you could do to help is come along with us to the TFA/GOA Lobby Day on March 16th.

Two years ago, we attended their Lobby Day in Nashville and had a firsthand look at how regular folks' involvement actually affects how their representatives vote. So, if you are in Tennessee, please consider attending, calling, or emailing in support of the following good bills that we at T.REX are pretty excited about. Some of them will be decided tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

If you aren't in Tennessee, get connected with your local state organizations, and maybe skim through the list of bills that we are working on here for some examples of things to keep an out for in other places.

Wednesday 3/9 (TOMORROW)

HB 1735 / SB 2291
Sponsored by Rep. Chris Todd and Sen. Mike Bell, this bill would lower the minimum age to apply for a carry permit from 21 to 18, allowing 18-year-olds to carry firearms to protect themselves and others. It is scheduled to be heard in the House Civil Justice Committee on March 9th, so call Chris Todd now (615-741-7475) to let him know that you appreciate this, and then contact the committee members to let them know you want this passed. If you are under 21, explain how this bill would help you!

HB 2509 / SB 2628
Sponsored by Rep. Rusty Grills and Sen. Frank Nicely, this bill removes "Short Barreled Rifles and Shotguns" from Tennessee's list of banned weapons. While the National Firearms Act of 1934 would still regulate these weapons at the Federal Level, there's no reason for State law to maintain these arbitrary restrictions or depend on ATF whims to determine the definition of "short." This bill is scheduled to be heard in Criminal Justice Subcommittee on March 9th.

Tuesday 3/15 (Next Week)

HB 2521 / SB 2521
Sponsored by Rep. Jerry Sexton and Sen. Joey Hensley, this is another cleanup bill relating to things like the automatic criminal liability for missing a no-firearms sign. This bill is scheduled to be heard in Civil Justice Subcommittee on March 15th.

HB 2554 / SB 2523
Sponsored by Rep. Chris Hurt and Sen. Joey Hensley, this bill gives enhanced handgun carry permit holders the same carry privileges as off-duty law enforcement officers. It got a lot of attention in the media when clueless reporters decided that this meant giving permit holders the same arrest powers as on-duty officers, but no. It merely takes the list of places that off-duty officers can carry and adds permit holders to the list of people allowed to carry there. Confusing, perhaps, but not crazy. This bill is scheduled to be heard in Civil Justice Subcommittee on March 15th.

Schedule TBD

HB 2323/ SB 2638
Sponsored by Rep. Rusty Grills and Sen. Frank Nicely, this bill addresses a strange loophole in our criminal code. While citizens are currently allowed to defend themselves from attackers with lethal force, they are not allowed to detain that same attacker for their safety or the safety of others. This bill would protect TN citizens from criminal charges if they restrain an attacker instead of killing them. This bill has been assigned to the Criminal Justice Subcommittee but isn't on the calendar yet.

HB 2777 / SB 2823
This bill changes criminal procedure so that in a case where the use of force was justified, the person who used force can only be prosecuted after the justification for self-defense is first investigated. It would make harassment prosecutions like Rittenhouse or Delke cases less likely. It was rolled by Senate Judiciary Committee on the afternoon of March 8th, so it should be heard again in a few weeks.

HB 2524 / SB 2866
Sponsored by Rep. Jerry Sexton and Sen. Paul Bailey, this bill cleans up some very old code in § 39-17-1307, 1308, and 1311, including the archaic prohibition on carrying "a firearm or club with the intent to go armed." This bill has been assigned to the Criminal Justice Subcommittee but isn't on the calendar yet.

Report from Tuesday 3/8 (Today)

HB 1898 / SB 2803
Sponsored by Rep. Rusty Grills and Sen. Kerry Roberts, this bill would change the carry language from the word "handgun" to the word "firearm." This would allow Tennesseans to carry rifles with them as well as handguns and clears up some confusion when folks are carrying AR-15s that are legally pistols but look like rifles. This bill was quietly squashed in Civil Justice Subcommittee on March 8th. Send thanks and supportive emails to the sponsors, perhaps they will have some ideas on how we could bring it back to life.

HB 2770 / SB 2698
Sponsored by Rep. Chris Todd and Sen. Janice Bowling, this bill would require any location or business that prohibits firearms possession to accept responsibility for the safety and defense of their customers. In other words, gun-free zones would be liable for damages suffered by people who were prevented from protecting themselves. This bill was also dropped by Civil Justice Subcommittee on March 8th.

We also have three particularly bad bills pending, which need to be opposed.

HB 2087 / SB 2170
This bill would make it a crime to leave any firearm in any vehicle and therefore make it almost impossible to comply with existing gun-free zones. Also, if your firearm is ever stolen from your vehicle, you would be required to file a criminal report that you were breaking this law within 24 hours, thus violating the 5th Amendment. This bill is scheduled to be heard in Criminal Justice Subcommittee on March 9th.

HB 2620 / SB 2211
This bill would create criminal liability for anyone storing a firearm in a way that a person under 18 could access it and bring it to a school. This bill is scheduled to be heard in Criminal Justice Subcommittee on March 9th.

HB 2724 / SB 1970
This bill would make it a crime again to have a firearm in a vehicle under many circumstances. It's essentially a sneaky way to legally disable most firearm freedoms. Technically, you would still have the right to carry, but only if you bike or walk to work. This bill is scheduled to be heard in Civil Justice Subcommittee on March 15th.