HERE is the PDF file of the TFA endorsement. The text is reproduced here:
July 16, 2010

I write to advise that the Tennessee Firearms Association’s executive committee has authorized the Association to endorse you in your candidacy for Governor of the State of Tennessee. This determination has come after much consideration since historically the Tennessee Firearms Association does not make specific political endorsements. However, this instance presents what was determined to be a unique situation.

Personally and in my volunteer capacity as the Executive Director of the Tennessee Firearms Association since 1995, I am comfortable that from your extensive experience and public voting record that you have demonstrated a strong and consistent support of the rights of the citizens of the State of Tennessee as protected by the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution as well as Article I, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution. You have demonstrated this core principal even when others have questioned the justness of standing up for constitutionally recognized rights that might seem to them to be unnecessary.

We recognize that there are many who claim to be conservative, constitutionally based and a supporter of both state’s rights and the rights of the individual citizen. However, we have found repeatedly that a person’s understanding of and willingness to support the full spectrum of 2nd Amendment rights, in a modern social and political environment, is a reliable litmus test of whether that individual truly is a strong, constitutionally based conservative. In the 15 years that the Tennessee Firearms Association has been in existence, I have not noted any wavering in your support of the rights of the citizens of this state under the state or federal constitutions.

You demonstrated your support of these rights as early as 1997, while serving in the state Senate, when you pushed forward with a heavily opposed civilian handgun carry law that markedly improved the ability of Tennesseans, who chose to do so, to obtain civilian handgun carry permits. Your bill streamlined the application process so that Tennessee’s citizens would not have to wait up to a year to receive a handgun carry permit. That change in the law and numerous others to follow have proven to be a wise move and a resounding success for the citizens of this State.

Your record on 2nd Amendment and state constitutional issues is well established in the public record and stands in stark contrast to the public records of the other candidates in the race. Its one thing for a candidate to proclaim that he is a supporter of the Second Amendment, particularly when that support is questionable in the light of prior public actions. It is quite another thing when a candidate’s public record strongly evidences support of the 2 Amendment as your’s does. nd Indeed, the last two years demonstrate the dedication of you and others in the Senate to the constitutional principles that the Tennessee Firearms Association tracts as evidenced by the consecutive and overwhelming veto overrides that have been made despite opposition from the news media and even some in law enforcement. Standing up for the rights of citizens is a core characteristic that you have proven through more than a decade of public service.

The Tennessee Firearms Association endorses you because we believe that you are the best candidate to protect and to continue to advance the rights of conservatives, constitutionalists, and, in general, the interests of the firearms owners, hunters and sportsmen in Tennessee. The Tennessee Firearms Association bases this uncommon endorsement not on promises and speculation but on facts established by your record.

John I. Harris III

Executive Director

Tennessee Firearms Association, Inc.

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