Posted on 12/25/2001 9:28:52 AM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
Gun enthusiasts hope to persuade state lawmakers to further relax handgun restrictions during the upcoming legislative session, but will face strong opposition from restaurant owners, educators and organizations seeking tighter gun controls. Backers of the proposal want the mushrooming number of Tennesseans with gun permits to be able to carry a handgun into a restaurant that sells alcoholic beverages and to be able to leave their weapon locked in their car on school grounds as long as they are there for any ''legitimate purpose.'' John Harris of the Tennessee Firearms Association says permit holders have shown they are responsible and that restrictions should be relaxed. ''We have a large number of people who have been trained and certified and now, with a seven-year history of carrying in the state, we have a very low if not nonexistent incident rate,'' Harris said.
''We need to take that into consideration and make reasonable rules on where they can and should be carrying. Permit holders feel like the guns are safer to the general public, and to them in particular, if they are in the permit holder's custody and control rather than left unattended in vehicles.'' But the organization representing many of the state's restaurants is ''very much opposed'' to opening its establishments to gun-toting customers, said Ronnie Hart, lobbyist for the Tennessee Restaurant Association. ''It says they can carry (a firearm) but they can't drink? How long do you think that will last?'' Hart asked. ''It is prohibited right now to carry a firearm in a restaurant or bar. We are very much in favor of keeping that in place. Things happen so fast some times that you can't control them.'' The number of Tennesseans receiving conceal and carry permits jumped from 35,337 in 1997 to 99,130 last year, according to the state Safety Department. A count of permits issued so far this year was not available.
A move is also proposed that would allow honorably discharged veterans to skip the gun safety class that others are required to take to obtain a permit to carry a concealed firearm. The bill's sponsor, Rep. H.E. Bittle, R-Knoxville, said the proposed change was a matter of common sense, since veterans are already trained in firearm safety. Legislation to place more restrictions on firearms may also be offered. State Rep. Henri Brooks, D-Memphis, who heads a legislative committee that has been studying how to keep children safe from guns, says the committee is not yet ready to make a recommendation on what type of legislation, if any, it may offer. Gun restrictions with respect to restaurants have already been relaxed somewhat. Before last year, a permit holder could not carry his or her weapon into a business that sells alcohol for off-premise consumption. That made supermarkets that sell beer off-limits, Harris said.
That prohibition was removed and the law concerning restaurants was changed to allow a permit holder to leave his or her weapon locked in a car on the restaurant parking lot. Under present law, the gun cannot be carried inside, and that is what gun enthusiasts want to change. Keeping a gun inside the car won't work, said gun enthusiast Steve Murray, adding that the law currently puts law-abiding citizens at a disadvantage. He said robbers now know people who exit restaurants that sell alcohol are potential targets because the patrons are unarmed. Murray, of Mt. Juliet, has had a permit to carry a firearm for three years, and owns a jewelry repair business. He says he depends on a firearm for his protection. The owner of one local restaurant that serves beer, however, said he was concerned about mixing alcohol and people who are legally permitted to carry firearms. ''If the gun's underneath the front seat of your car, and in the parking lot, that's good enough for me,'' said Fate Thomas of Fate's Pig & Pie restaurant on Charlotte Pike. ''I do not think it needs to be at the table with you.''
The organization representing most of the state's teachers is opposed to a proposal allowing guns on school parking lots. ''Our position would be that the law is really pretty tight right now on guns on school property and that's the way it ought to be,'' said Jerry Winters, lobbyist for the Tennessee Education Association. ''We see no reason to expand any law that would in any way put student safety in jeopardy.''
To those of you who think my views are extreme, I am losing patience with this demented crowd who would make all of us vulnerable to the crackpots of the world. They (those who endager the rest of us) simply must be punished. The time for negotiation is coming to an end.
Is it any wonder that the overwhelming majority of 'acts of mass violence' (9/11, Columbine, various workplaces, etc...) occur where people are legally prohibited from carrying?
They need to get rid of all of the stupid restrictions. And if they are intent on keeping a few (like a courthouse), at least have a place to check them in at the door.
You see? give the people a little taste of freedom, and they're not satisfied. They want more.
It's this kind of twisted thinking that caused the downfall of communism.
I believe that they feel psycologicaly challenged when they think of this. Something to the effect of:
"But if people can defend themselves, I would have to learn how. I don't want to learn how, because I would have to understand that the world is not the fantasy I want it to be. I cannot allow that possiblity, so I can't allow the possibility that people can defend themselves to enter into my thought process."
Yep. Why hasn't the NRA done this? Why???!!! They have the funds. Start suing them every time they open their mouths with some stupid statement. Use up their funds on self-defense in court until they agree to shut up and let us live the way we wish to, and, allow them to live the way they wish to. We don't make them carry and they can't make us stop carrying.
Amen.
I agree with you and others on this thread. I for one don't think your views are extreme. It's taken some mental adjustment to accept that I am now a "radical," but I'm at the point that anything less is unacceptable.
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