by Jon Styf
A bill that would lower the age to carry a handgun in Tennessee from 21 to 18 passed the House on Thursday.
Bill sponsor Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, said that House Bill 1735 is about protecting the constitutional rights of 18-year-olds who can vote and enlist in the military. The bill passed by a 64-28 vote.
Tennessee 18-year-olds currently can possess firearms but they cannot carry a handgun unless they are honorably discharged or retired from the U.S. military or they are a member on active duty. Tennessee law allows for permitless carry for those ages 21 and older and, last year, it was sued over the restriction for ages 18, 19 and 20 by the Firearms Policy Coalition.
The companion bill, Senate Bill 2291, is currently in the general subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“This is strictly to get our law in compliance with the Constitution of the United States of America,” Todd said.
The bill met opposition from the Tennessee Department of Public Safety in committee as it was pointed out by Elizabeth Stroecker, legislative director for the Department of Public Safety, that it could threaten the reciprocity of concealed handgun permits for Tennessee residents.
But Todd previously said 25 states have continued to honor reciprocity for 18-year-olds from Tennessee since the exception for 18-year-olds was created. He said 11 others allow reciprocity but exclude 18 to 20-year-olds, with 12 states refusing reciprocity.
Todd also said that he has been told from several law enforcement agencies that lowering that age to 18 could help staffing issues in those departments as it makes younger adults eligible for employment.
“I think that is a slippery slope and we will see the negative impact of this in the future,” said Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis.
Stroecker said in committee that the Department of Public Safety will not get a definitive answer on whether those 21 states will drop reciprocity until a bill is passed and the department does its annual survey with other states.
“I do think, maybe, we might be giving some people legality to carrying guns that don’t currently have it,” said Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar, who said he didn’t stand against the legislation.
“This is for law-abiding citizens,” Todd said in response. “We are not passing laws for criminals.”
Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, said that he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17.
“I had never shot a military rifle,” Parkinson said. “They wouldn’t put a gun in our hands until I went through safety training, range training.”
Parkinson said that he would prefer if there was an amendment that called for training before 18-year-olds could carry a weapon concealed.
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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies.
Background Photo “Tennessee House of Representatives Chamber” by Ichabod. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Lawmakers waffle on whether 18 or 21 should be the legal adult age. I don’t which is best but governments need to make it uniform across the board.
I am not a supporter of the bill. Are you going to require some training ? Being a mother of a son tells me their brain does not mature until they are at least 20 to 25. differs in some males. I know they can go to war at 18.I do know life was different years ago and young men matured earlier because they had a lot of responsibility.
You need to set up a system of keeping track of gun violence shootings for this age group.
They already do. If kids are taught responsibility at home there should be no problems.
A really bad idea. 18 year old’s caring a weapon in the military is not a valid comparison to “unsupervised”, “un-trained” 18 year old’s carrying a weapon on our streets. The 18 year old in the military is under constant supervision even in combat. Military personnel under go extensive training before being allowed to carry/fire any weapon. I am a strong proponent of the 2nd Amendment but “good grief” people there are or should be limits to who should be allowed to carry. Todd needs to stop with the “grandstanding” b.s. about this being a Constitutional right.
In combat, there may NOT be direct supervision depending on the situation. The constitution is VERY clear.
I prefer the adage: Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
So let.me ask, what other co institutional rights do you want to be so quick to dismiss??
Wanna know who the main user of handguns are??…..criminals. Doesn’t make any difference how many laws we make, they’ll always be able to get their hands on firearms.
Harv,
Based on your mindset why stop at 18, why not 8 or 9 years of age or heck lets go all the way “if he/she can hold it then they can carry it”. I’m simply stating that maturity should be a consideration when referencing legal age to carry a concealed gun or open carry on the street. This isn’t about criminal activity, it’s about immature kids having immediate access to a weapon in the heat of an argument or disagreement or just horsing around and someone gets shot accidentally. You are right the 2nd Amendment is quite clear but one must consider the circumstances of the time when the 2nd Amendment was put in place. The country was a frontier, kids learned to handle guns at a very young age because they had to in order to survive.
ECP requires training. The course charges a fee and is a full day with range training for proficiency with the fire arm scoring a target at a specified range. Folk like you and these others against this bill are risking the lives of college aged women and men against criminals who do not care about the law. And these fears are irrationally biased against supposition upon these people’s own kids. Astonishing! They still cant buy a handgun by federal law until 21, so don’t buy them one or let them live in your house with one. But it’s reprehensible to subject adults in the categories where the age 18-21 is most at risk for robbery, rape and murder.
There is no magic age for responsibility. You are or aren’t and the unconstitutionally permitted law against the majority of decent folk is inexcusable.
This is a tough issue that I have had discussions with other shooting sports enthusiasts about. While there is a strong argument that if you are old enough to enlist and fight for America, you should be old enough to protect yourself with a firearm. My concern is with the level of maturity of some people 18 to 21 years old. What I find interesting is here in NE Tennessee I have yet to read about any shooting accidents due to negligent discharges, while in Vermont they were a yearly occurrence. This would usually happen when a (young) person would drop the magazine out of a (semi-automatic) pistol believing it was then unloaded, when in reality there was still a live round in the chamber. They would then start playing with the handgun, usually pointing it at someone and pulling the trigger.
While safe firearm handling is taught by many parents to their children here in Tennessee, I strongly feel that to carry a handgun concealed in public, one should take a training session. Before Tennessee became a “Constitutional Carry” state, a Concealed Handgun Permit was required with its associated training course.
Another area of responsibility that few people address is the legal ramifications of using a firearm in a self defense situation. I believe most people are oblivious to what can happen once they actually draw their weapon, let alone pull the trigger. I cannot state in strong enough words the need to study and understand the responsibilities that come along with carrying a concealed weapon in public.
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