Tennessee State Legislature candidates revealed their positions on possible Second Amendment-related legislation in a survey of the candidates conducted by the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA).
The TFA’s candidate survey consisted of 24 “yes” or “no” questions, asking candidates up for election whether they would vote for hypothetical legislation. Most of the hypothetical bills in question dealt with repealing restrictions on Tennesseans to own and carry firearms. The TFA posted the results on Monday.
Republican challenger for District 6 Monica Irvine said in the survey that she wants to remove a part of the Tennessee Constitution, saying, “but the legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.” Neither of the other candidates for District 6, which encompasses part of Knox County, completed the survey.
State Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) said he would continue to fund grants for school safety and School Resource Officers (SROs). He also said he supports teachers carrying firearms.
“I’m open to anything that kicks the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives] out of Tennessee,” said Mitchell Morrison, an independent challenger to State Senator Sara Kyle (D-Memphis), who represents part of Shelby County. Morrison is the only non-Democrat running for the seat and the only one to complete the TFA survey.
Two Republican challengers running for Tennessee State House, Christopher Huff for District 60 and Jason Emert for District 20, opposed “red flag” laws. A “red flag” law is legislation allowing a court to order law enforcement to seize a person’s firearms when the court believes that person poses a danger.
Republican Governor Bill Lee encouraged the Tennessee General Assembly to pass such laws in the wake of the Covenant School shooting, though many Republican lawmakers opposed him.
The TFA survey also asked whether participants would support laws unrelated to firearms, such as making the state attorney general an elected position or altering certain legislative procedures.
Of those who completed the survey, State Representative Lowell Russel (R-Vonore), State Representative Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro), State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood), State Representative Jay Reedy (R-Erin), and David Page, a Democrat challenger to State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), said they would not support an elected state attorney general position.
Not all candidates up for election completed the survey. Independents and candidates of both parties refrained from answering its questions, but most of the candidates who completed the questions are running as Republicans.
The TFA said it does not support any specific candidates for office due to the organization’s 501(c)(4) status.
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Matthew Giffin is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Matthew on X/Twitter.
