by Jon Styf
Those who are 18 to 20 can now openly carry firearms in Tennessee after a settlement was reached between the Firearms Policy Coalition and the state.
The settlement came as the result of a suit following Tennessee’s law on open carry restricting those who are 18 to 21 from being part of the allowance.
The suit was originally filed in 2021 and then amended in 2022 after a similar case from the FPC won in Texas.
Last year, Rep Chris Todd, R-Madison County, pushed legislation to change the law to allow for those 18 to 20 to openly carry. That bill passed the Tennessee House but was not taken up by the Senate.
“FPC Law is thrilled with today’s settlement,” said FPC Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “Our position all along has been that peaceable adults of all ages have human rights – even those aged 18 to 20. To restore the rights of an entire community of folks in Tennessee is a great win for us.”
The settlement states the restriction for those ages 18 to 20 was a violation of the Second Amendment and 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as it restricted use solely based on age.
Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Jeff Long, the defendant in the suit, is required to share the settlement agreement with the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association and the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police.
Within 90 days, the state must also begin processing enhanced handgun and concealed handgun carry permits for those aged 18 to 20 in the state. The FPC will also receive attorneys’ fees of $47,250.
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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. Styf is a reporter for The Center Square.Â
Photo “Concealed Carry” by Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.
13 years of Republican, veto-proof supermajority and we can’t get an actual return to constitutional practice in this state. Just like Democrats, they only pass more blatantly unconstitutional restrictions and call it “law” and then force the citizens to spend time and money through the courts to correct their unconstitutional (and therefore illegal) actions – while they abuse the citizens under the color of law in the meanwhile. But the question is, will Tennessee sheriffs en masse ever stand up to them like Illinois sheriffs rightly did to Pritzker? Or don’t they know the SCOTUS has already ruled that “law” repugnant to the constitution is null and void?
Horatio – You are so right about the democrats pretending to be conservative Republicans in the Tennessee legislature. Either that or they have no guts. Neither choice is good for us citizens.
Bad idea, bad law.
You are correct. It’s a bad idea to violate Constitutional rights with bad laws.