A judge in Nashville ruled that the so-called "guns in bars" law is unconstitutional because it is too vague:
A judge in Nashville declared Tennessee's 'guns in bars' law unconstitutional Friday, saying the law is too vague. Ruling in favor of the group, Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman said the law is "fraught with ambiguity."
It may not seem like such a big deal that this law was overturned, especially since the news media really ran with the whole "guns in bars" meme. To believe some in the press, we were headed for a sort of Statewide "gunfight at the OK Corral." Both the press and those for and against this legislation have missed the point about why those of us who favored this law felt that was needed to begin with. Tennesseans have been left with the impression that this law was about letting people pack heat in Tootsie's. While the legislation certainly allowed for that (provided the owners of Tootie's didn't object), the purpose wasn't to insure that honky-tonk patrons could have big irons on their hips, but to insure that those who had concealed-carry permits had the benefit of personal protection if they needed it when taking their family out to dinner-a regular activity for many, if not most Tennesseans.
(Photo: Circle KB Western)
Prior to the passage of the so-called "guns in bars" law, law-abiding citizens with concealed carry permits could not take their hidden protection with them into Applebee's, or O'Charley's, or the Olive Garden, or Friday's, or Red Lobster, or any other number of casual dining establishments because a great many of them happened to have bars inside. Nevermind that you came there to eat with your family or friends, if someone tried to rob the place you wouldn't have the opportunity to defend yourself if you had a permit because that is considered having a gun in a bar-forget that you weren't drinking or weren't sitting anywhere near the bar. Without this law, Tennessee's concealed carry permits were worthless in many of the very places regular Tennesseans frequent every day. Our concealed carry program has no teeth without this kind of legislation. Indeed, this kind of law is so critical to the effectivenes of concealed carry as a personal protection and crime deterrent that without it we might as well not have concealed carry at all.
That argument was never successfully posited in the media by people who understood the importance of this law, and it became all about "guns in bars" when it was really about "protection at your favorite restaurant." It is to be hoped that the Legislature will make the law as clearly unambiguous as possible so that a Tennessean's concealed carry permit means that they can carry where they might actually have need to, as opposed to where the State says they can and cannot.
Comments
Seriously? If you need to pack heat at the place you regularly take you family for dinner, maybe you should find a new place to eat.
NO YOU DIDN'T just say "protection at your favorite restaurant" -- did you?
Sounds like a great place to eat, "can I interest you in dessert or more bullets?"
This isn't about protecting your family. This about you feeling like a big shot when you carry a gun around. You gun huggers will never admit it but all you really care about is the feeling of power you get holding gun. I really think you people are pathetic.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luby's_massacre
I still felt funny about guns in bars. Myself i dont go to bars,whether they serve food or not. My opinion guns dont have a place there. At a table in a restaurant,weapon concelled,different matter. The judge ruled it unconstitutional, have ya'll forgot that when the constitution was written people carried their weapons everywhere,even in places to eat. Their weapon was a means of protection then as much as needed today. The economy has left many unemployed,and some are desperate to get money. We have let so many ppl into this country from the border and they are desperate for financial gain, many will take what ever measures needed. Its not going to get better. The recovery will take a long time if ever. Mean time, crime will rise,and ppl will get hurt or killed. Us honest hard working ppl have a right to go home safe everynight with our hard earnings intact. This Judge lives in a sheltered world and i pray that nothing happens to her or her family, just as we hope for ours. More and
In response to Aaron Thompson. Hey Aaron, ever hear of Luby's Cafeteria. All those dead people thought it was a safe place to eat with their families.
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