by Jon Styf
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill Wednesday that makes the state a Second Amendment sanctuary.
Senate Bill 1335 prevents any “law, treaty, executive order, rule, or regulation of the United States government” that violates the Tennessee Constitution or the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution from being enforced in the state.
That violation would have to be determined by either the Tennessee or U.S. Supreme Court. The stipulation was added during debate of the bill in the Tennessee House, and the Senate concurred.
In the initial Senate discussion, much of the debate centered around whether the bill was acting as nullification, meaning it was attempting to overrule federal law.
Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, interpreted the bill that way, calling it “foolishness.” Some on the other side of the debate disagreed, and others, such as Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, said that nullification was “alive and well” and used federal and state marijuana use laws across the country as an example.
Democrats such as Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, were happy to support the bill.
“Contrary to the messaging that’s out there, Democrats are not for taking your guns away from you,” Parkinson said during debate.
Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, said during debate that getting a Supreme Court ruling probably would not ever happen quickly. He used a potential presidential executive order on a bump-stock ban as an example.
“It would take three years or more for the Supreme Court ever to rule on that,” Mitchell said. “So people in Tennessee could enforce that and not be subject to the penalties in your bill.”
Rep. Scotty Campbell, R-Mountain City, said he could not comment on that timeline.
“The court has its own timeline on many things,” Campbell said. “I know what I would like to see. It’s probably very different than what you would like to see. I’ll just leave that there.”
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Jon Styf contributes to The Center Square.
What was done, can be undone.
Once the DEMs add a few more people to JUST Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga, they will begin control of the overall State’s focus, and control of electoral votes. And effective control of Tennessee. Turning the whole state into a… Democrat Party controlled Tennessee.
Joe Biden only needed to win 17% of all The USA’s counties (ONLY the counties with the big cities!), to win each state needed, to grab the presidency. Joe Biden won 17% of USA; JUST the cities.
The DEMs are doing the SAME thing to Tennessee. Soon, they will ONLY need to win those three cities, to CONTROL all of Tennessee.
And then … what was done, WILL BE undone.
PS: Like it, or not, it IS happening.
It is about time that Tennessee and other freedom loving states begin to nullify the ravings coming out of D.C. What happen to states’ rights?
I strongly encourage everyone who chooses to carry a handgun to spent a lot of time understanding your rights and responsibilities. There are an unlimited number of well written books, as well as on line resources, available that explain your responsibilities prior to and after you were forced to pull the trigger. And please be mindful of the image you present if you choose to open carry. You are not doing the rest of us responsible firearms owners any favors by openly carrying you handgun in Walmart or McDonalds while wearing a T-shirt that makes some political statement. While (I believe) most people in TN are comfortable around firearms there may be others who are not. If you are a liberal/socialist who “hates guns” this might be a good time to think about relocating to a blue state.
Well said sir!
Open carry is a very important optic for our freedoms and I encourage responsible citizens to do so when ever possible. Always remember when open carrying you are an ambassador representing freedom and civil rights.