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The Tennessee Firearms Association Opposes Bill Lowering Handgun Age to 18 Because of Certain Provisions by Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee Firearms Association announced its opposition to a pending bill under General Assembly consideration that lowers the handgun carry age from 21 to 18.

State Rep. Chris Todd (R-Madison) filed HB1735 last month. House Majority Leader William Lamberth is a co-sponsor. Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville) filed the companion bill, SB2291, on Wednesday.

A statement provided by Tennessee Firearms Association Executive Director John Harris to The Tennessee Star said:

Tennessee Firearms Association has considered House Bill 1735 (Senate Bill 2291) and does not support the bill as filed.  Current Tennessee law allows only those individuals who are 18-20 years old and who have military service to obtain an enhanced handgun permit while denying other 18-20 year olds who lack military service the capacity to obtain an enhanced handgun permit.  This legislation would eliminate the clear equal protection problem of existing Tennessee law and would treat all 18-20 year old citizens the same with respect to the capacity to obtain a handgun permit.

However, the proposed legislation itself incorporates additional language which seeks to impose criminal prohibitions concerning the places where 18-20 year olds who have an enhanced permit but do who do not military service can possess a handgun which prohibitions do not apply to 18-20 year olds who have military service.  Since the United States Supreme Court declared in Heller that the rights protected by the Second Amendment constitute a fundamental human right, it is inappropriate to treat some 18-20 year olds differently from others as this legislation proposes and as current law already does.  It is this feature of this legislation which Tennessee Firearms Association believes should not be added to Tennessee law.

Under current law, individuals who are at least 18 years old in Tennessee and in many other states are able to purchase, own and possess handguns.  Even ATF’s own website makes clear that 18-20 years olds can legally purchase handguns under federal law so long as they do not make such purchase from a federally licensed dealer.  Tennessee Firearms Association supports the efforts in 2022 to change state law so that anyone who can legally possess a handgun has the capacity without the necessity of a state issued permit or reliance on a statutory defense to carry that firearm for lawful purposes, including personal protection.

The bill caption states:

Firearms and Ammunition – As introduced, lowers the age requirement to obtain an enhanced or concealed handgun carry permit or lawfully carry a handgun in public from 21 to 18 years of age; states that the statutory authorization to transport or store a firearm or firearm ammunition in a motor vehicle under certain circumstances does not apply to a person under 21 years of age in a parking area that is owned, operated, or while in use by any school, unless the person is at least 18 years of age and meets certain military qualifications. – Amends TCA Title 39.

The Star previously reported that HB1735 does not allow for an individual under 21 years and older to store or transport a firearm on a school campus unless that individual is 18 years of age and is:

(A) Is an honorably discharged or retired veteran of the United States armed forces; (B) Is an honorably discharged member of the army national guard, the army reserve, the navy reserve, the marine corps reserve, the air national guard, the air force reserve, or the coast guard reserve, who has successfully completed a basic training program; or (C) Is a member of the United States armed forces on active duty status or is a current member of the army national guard, the army reserve, the navy reserve, the marine corps reserve, the air national guard, the air force reserve, or the coast guard reserve, who has successfully completed a basic training program.

It is currently unclear what effect the Tennessee Firearms Association’s opposition to the legislation will have.

– – –

Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to agulbransen@gmail.com.

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The Tennessee Firearms Association Opposes Bill Lowering Handgun Age to 18 Because of Certain Provisions by Aaron Gulbransen

 

The Tennessee Firearms Association announced its opposition to a pending bill under General Assembly consideration that lowers the handgun carry age from 21 to 18.

State Rep. Chris Todd (R-Madison) filed HB1735 last month. House Majority Leader William Lamberth is a co-sponsor. Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville) filed the companion bill, SB2291, on Wednesday.

A statement provided by Tennessee Firearms Association Executive Director John Harris to The Tennessee Star said:

Tennessee Firearms Association has considered House Bill 1735 (Senate Bill 2291) and does not support the bill as filed.  Current Tennessee law allows only those individuals who are 18-20 years old and who have military service to obtain an enhanced handgun permit while denying other 18-20 year olds who lack military service the capacity to obtain an enhanced handgun permit.  This legislation would eliminate the clear equal protection problem of existing Tennessee law and would treat all 18-20 year old citizens the same with respect to the capacity to obtain a handgun permit.

However, the proposed legislation itself incorporates additional language which seeks to impose criminal prohibitions concerning the places where 18-20 year olds who have an enhanced permit but do who do not military service can possess a handgun which prohibitions do not apply to 18-20 year olds who have military service.  Since the United States Supreme Court declared in Heller that the rights protected by the Second Amendment constitute a fundamental human right, it is inappropriate to treat some 18-20 year olds differently from others as this legislation proposes and as current law already does.  It is this feature of this legislation which Tennessee Firearms Association believes should not be added to Tennessee law.

Under current law, individuals who are at least 18 years old in Tennessee and in many other states are able to purchase, own and possess handguns.  Even ATF’s own website makes clear that 18-20 years olds can legally purchase handguns under federal law so long as they do not make such purchase from a federally licensed dealer.  Tennessee Firearms Association supports the efforts in 2022 to change state law so that anyone who can legally possess a handgun has the capacity without the necessity of a state issued permit or reliance on a statutory defense to carry that firearm for lawful purposes, including personal protection.

The bill caption states:

Firearms and Ammunition – As introduced, lowers the age requirement to obtain an enhanced or concealed handgun carry permit or lawfully carry a handgun in public from 21 to 18 years of age; states that the statutory authorization to transport or store a firearm or firearm ammunition in a motor vehicle under certain circumstances does not apply to a person under 21 years of age in a parking area that is owned, operated, or while in use by any school, unless the person is at least 18 years of age and meets certain military qualifications. – Amends TCA Title 39.

The Star previously reported that HB1735 does not allow for an individual under 21 years and older to store or transport a firearm on a school campus unless that individual is 18 years of age and is:

(A) Is an honorably discharged or retired veteran of the United States armed forces; (B) Is an honorably discharged member of the army national guard, the army reserve, the navy reserve, the marine corps reserve, the air national guard, the air force reserve, or the coast guard reserve, who has successfully completed a basic training program; or (C) Is a member of the United States armed forces on active duty status or is a current member of the army national guard, the army reserve, the navy reserve, the marine corps reserve, the air national guard, the air force reserve, or the coast guard reserve, who has successfully completed a basic training program.

It is currently unclear what effect the Tennessee Firearms Association’s opposition to the legislation will have.

– – –

Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to agulbransen@gmail.com.

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Biden, DOJ Announce ‘National Ghost Gun Enforcement Initiative’ to Crack Down on Homemade Guns by Jordan Michaels

Biden, DOJ Announce &8216;National Ghost Gun Enforcement Initiative&8217; to Crack Down on Homemade Guns

President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland announced today the creation of a “National Ghost Gun Enforcement Initiative” designed to crack down on homemade guns, sometimes referred to as “ghost guns.”

The announcement comes as Biden travels to New York City to meet with Mayor Eric Adams, who recently announced his own “Blueprint to End Gun Violence.”

“Today, the Department is announcing the launch of a national ghost gun enforcement initiative designed to prevent these unserialized firearms from being used to commit crimes, including by prioritizing bringing federal charges against criminal use of these weapons,” the DOJ explained in a statement.

As part of this new initiative, the DOJ will “train a national cadre of prosecutors on enforcement issues specific to the use of ghost guns in crimes.” These prosecutors will be available to “every district across the country.”

The DOJ will also send out a “set of materials” to assist investigators and prosecutors in bringing cases against those who use homemade firearms in crimes, and designate a “ghost gun coordinator” in each ATF field division.

The statement’s focus on crimes and criminals is doubtless intended to reassure law-abiding gun owners that the DOJ won’t come after them. But “ghost gun” owners may not be considered “law-abiding” for long.

At the behest of the Biden administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) proposed a new rule that would redefine what constitutes a “firearm frame or receiver.”

As part of this new rule, the ATF will ban “weapons parts kits” by redefining the term “firearm” to include “a weapon parts kit that is designed to or may readily be assembled, completed, converted, or restored to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive.”

This new definition requires companies that manufacture weapons parts kits to serialize unfinished receivers and conduct a background check on all customers prior to purchase.

The ATF assures gun owners that “nothing in this rule would restrict persons not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms from making their own firearms at home without markings solely for personal use.”

However, the DOJ’s laser focus on “ghost gun” prosecution casts doubt on how gun owners who currently own non-serialized weapons parts kits will be treated. As GunsAmerica has covered previously, the ATF has banned a product, secured customer lists from gun companies, and used those lists to prosecute search warrants.

In the case of one firefighter from California, state agents discovered illegal firearms while assisting the ATF on its raid, and the state tried to prosecute him.

Considering this history, the DOJ’s assurance that its new task force will only target criminal ghost gun owners is small comfort.

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California: Mandatory Gun Ownership Disclosure Bill Filed
Yesterday, the California State Legislature saw the introduction of two more anti-gun bills that continue the assault on lawful gun ownership in the Golden State. On the heels of passing legislation to violate gun owner privacy during the 2021 legislative session, for which the NRA has already filed a lawsuit, legislators have now introduced Senate Bill 906, to require disclosure of firearm ownership and storage methods for parents of school-age children. This is one more attack on the privacy of lawful gun owners in this state. NRA will fight this legislation during the session and will be prepared to pursue litigation in the event it receives the Governor’s signature. Additionally, Assembly Bill 1769 was introduced prohibiting the sale of firearms, ammunition, and firearm parts at gun shows in the 31st Agricultural District. Both SB 906 and AB 1769 are still awaiting committee assignments and policy hearings. Your NRA will continue to keep you updated as these bills are scheduled.

Senate Bill 906, introduced by Senator Anthony Portantino (D-25), makes it mandatory that parents of students disclose firearm ownership status to the schools their children attend, including how they are stored. It requires that these questions be placed on the forms used to register or enroll students, and these forms may be made available to law-enforcement under certain conditions.

Assembly Bill 1769, introduced by Assembly Member Steve Bennett (D-37), prohibits officers, employees, operators, lessees, or licensees of the 31st District Agricultural Association from entering into any agreement to allow for the sale of any firearm, firearm parts, or ammunition on property or buildings that comprise the Ventura County Fair and Event Center or properties in Ventura County and the City of Ventura that are owned, leased, operated, or occupied by the District. This imposes a one-size-fits-all restriction to prevent officials from deciding how to use venues.
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Biden Admin Has Records on Nearly One Billion Gun Sales ATF database on firearm sales sparks fears Biden admin tracking millions of gun owners

 • January 31, 2022 1:10 pm

The Biden administration is in possession of nearly one billion records detailing American citizens’ firearm purchases, far more than Congress and the public has been aware of, according to new information from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The ATF disclosed to lawmakers that it manages a database of 920,664,765 firearm purchase records, including both digital and hard copy versions of these transactions. When a licensed gun store goes out of business, its private records detailing gun transactions become ATF property and are stored at a federal site in West Virginia. The practice has contributed to the fears of gun advocacy groups and Second Amendment champions in Congress that the federal government is creating a national database of gun owners, which violates longstanding federal statutes.

Rep. Michael Cloud (R., Texas), who led an investigation into the ATF database following a November Free Beacon report that the Biden administration had stockpiled records of more than 54 million gun transactions in 2021, expressed shock at the number of gun records being kept by the federal government. Cloud maintains that the ATF’s database could be exploited by the Biden administration to surveil American gun owners as it pursues new restrictions on firearms.

“A federal firearm registry is explicitly banned by law. Yet, the Biden administration is again circumventing Congress and enabling the notably corrupt ATF to manage a database of nearly a billion gun transfer records,” Cloud told the Free Beacon. “Under the president’s watch, the ATF has increased surveillance on American gun owners at an abhorrent level. The Biden administration continues to empower criminals and foreign nationals while threatening the rights of law-abiding Americans. It’s shameful and this administration should reconsider its continued attacks on American gun owners.”

While the ATF denies that these records are used to track gun owners, it transfers hard copies of the information into a searchable digital database that it says is used to trace firearms tied to crimes. The ATF reported that 865,787,086 of the records are already in a digital format.

As the ATF stockpiles gun records, the Biden administration is seeking to alter a federal law that allows gun stores to destroy their records after 20 years, preventing the federal government from getting them. The Biden administration wants gun stores to maintain their records in perpetuity, meaning that when a store closes, the ATF receives all of its records. The ATF’s gun records database has long been a flashpoint between Second Amendment advocates and the federal government, with the latter claiming the ATF is exploiting legal loopholes to expand the database. The Biden administration’s push to ensure that all out-of-business records ultimately make their way to the ATF has sparked fierce pushback from 52 Republicans in Congress.

The proposed change, Cloud and his colleagues wrote to the ATF in a November letter, “means that 100 percent of all lawful commercial firearm transfers would eventually end up in an ATF computer system, thereby creating a permanent database”—in violation of the law.

The ATF maintained in its response to the 2021 investigation that the “sole purpose” of its database and ongoing efforts to digitize out-of-business records “is to trace firearms used in crimes.”

More than half-a-million traces were performed in 2021, according to the ATF, and just under half a million in 2020. The ATF, however, says it does not have the ability to determine if the database actually helps solve crimes. The ATF’s National Tracing Center “has no ability to determine the successful prosecution of hundreds of thousands of crime gun traces it completes annually, nor does it have any way to link a trace for a specific prosecution for a particular year,” the agency informed Congress.

Aidan Johnston, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, an advocacy group that has closely tracked the ATF’s database, told the Free Beacon that it is becoming clear the Biden administration is on its way to creating a national gun registry.

“Make no mistake—this is clear evidence that a partial national gun registry exists,” Johnston said. “If the American people don’t stand up for their rights now, Biden’s anti-gun ATF will be able to track gun owners, infringe on our rights, and potentially even confiscate our firearms.”

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They cannot control their feral residents, so you, 800 miles away, must be made to account for their failures.

APSU student indicted for selling firearms to NYPD undercover officer

  • MARY ALICE ROYSE, RYAN BRESLINGuns

    CLARKSVILLE, TN (WSMV) – New York City Police indicted a Clarksville college student for selling 73 firearms to an undercover officer.

    On Wednesday, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced the indictment of 23-year-old Shakor Rodriguez, originally from the Bronx, NY. Rodriguez, attending Austin Peay State University, has been indicted on hundreds of counts of criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm, and related charges for trafficking 73 weapons and high-capacity magazines to the Bronx and Manhattan.

    The investigation dubbed “Operation Overnight Express” took place between July 2020 and Dec. 2021 in New York. According to the investigation, Rodriguez sold an undercover officer 73 firearms, of which 59 were loaded and more than 40 high-capacity magazines, including multiple “drum” magazines.

    Authorities said the undercover typically paid between $1,000 and $1,500 per gun.

    “The defendant allegedly brought these semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines up from the south, sometimes transporting them in a duffle bag by bus,” D.A.Clark explained. “Dozens of the firearms were loaded, and four are considered assault weapons. The NYPD worked diligently to intercept these deadly weapons before they hit our streets.”

    Rodriguez was arraigned on January 24 on 79 counts, including the criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, and possession of ammunition.

    “We have to make sure that we’re working together, and this is not a New York phenomenon. This is a national phenomenon,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul explained. “And we now have to pull together all the tools in a concerted way, not just deploying what we have available to us here in the state of New York, which is exceptional, but also saying, where are these guns coming from? They’re not originating here in the state of New York.”

    Investigators are still looking into how Rodriguez obtained the guns and where they were purchased.

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Gee I wonder why that is !

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San Jose approves 1st U.S. liability insurance law for gun owners

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo stops to view a makeshift memorial for the rail yard shooting victims in front of City Hall in San Jose on May 27, 2021. (Haven Daley/Associated Press)

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo stops to view a makeshift memorial for the rail yard shooting victims in front of City Hall in San Jose on May 27, 2021. (Haven Daley/Associated Press)

 A California city voted Tuesday night to require gun owners to carry liability insurance in what’s believed to be the first measure of its kind in the United States.

The San Jose City Council overwhelmingly approved the measure despite opposition from gun owners who said it would violate their Second Amendment rights and promised to sue.

The Silicon Valley city of about 1 million followed a trend of other Democratic-led cities that have sought to rein in violence through stricter rules. But while similar laws have been proposed, San Jose is the first city to pass one, according to Brady United, a national nonprofit that advocates against gun violence.

Council members, including several who had lost friends to gun violence, said it was a step toward dealing with gun violence that Councilman Sergio Jimenez called “a scourge on our society.”

Having liability insurance would encourage people in the 55,000 households in San Jose who legally own at least one registered gun to have gun safes, install trigger locks and take gun safety classes, Mayor Sam Liccardo said.

The liability insurance would cover losses or damages resulting from any accidental use of the firearm, including death, injury, or property damage, according to the ordinance. If a gun is stolen or lost, the owner of the firearm would be considered liable until the theft or loss is reported to authorities.

However, gun owners who don’t have insurance won’t lose their guns or face any criminal charges, the mayor said.

The council also voted to require gun owners to pay an estimated $25 fee, which would be collected by a yet-to-be-named nonprofit and doled out to community groups to be used for firearm safety education and training, suicide prevention, domestic violence, and mental health services.

The proposed ordinance is part of a broad gun control plan that Liccardo announced following the May 26 mass shooting at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority rail yard that left nine people dead, including the employee who opened fire on his colleagues then killed himself.

At an hours-long meeting, critics argued that the fee and liability requirements violated their right to bear arms and would do nothing to stop gun crimes, including the use of untraceable, build-it-yourself “ghost guns.”

“You cannot tax a constitutional right. This does nothing to reduce crime,” one speaker said.

The measure didn’t address the massive problem of illegally obtained weapons that are stolen or purchased without background checks.

Liccardo acknowledged those concerns.

“This won’t stop mass shootings and keep bad people from committing violent crime,” the mayor said, but added most gun deaths nationally are from suicide, accidental shootings or other causes and even many homicides stem from domestic violence.

Liccardo also said gun violence costs San Jose taxpayers $40 million a year in emergency response services.

Some speakers argued that the law would face costly and lengthy court challenges.

Before the vote, Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, said his group would sue if the proposal takes effect, calling it “totally unconstitutional in any configuration.”

However, Liccardo said some attorneys had already offered to defend the city pro bono.

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Own a Fast Reset Trigger for your AR? You better watch this

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NRA-ILA Asks Court for Temporary Restraining Order to Protect California Gun Owners’ Privacy
Last week, NRA-ILA filed a lawsuit challenging AB-173, a newly enacted California law that directs the California Department of Justice  (“Cal DoJ”) to turn over the personal information that it has on gun owners, including their name, address, place of birth, phone number, occupation, driver’s license or ID number, race, sex, height, weight, hair color, eye color, and even their social security number and types of firearms that they own, to the California Firearm Violence Research Center at UC Davis. AB-173 further allows the Cal DoJ and UC Davis to turn that information over to any other “bona fide research institute.” Now NRA-ILA has asked the court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order, enjoining the Cal DoJ from releasing any of that personal information until the case can be heard.

This is “an unprecedented invasion of privacy of millions of Californians who purchased firearms and ammunition, or who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon,” the motion argues. “The public release of Plaintiffs’ Personal Information threatens Plaintiffs’ personal privacy and physical security. Indeed, firearm owners often encounter concerted harassment, sometimes including violence, and they are frequent targets of criminal efforts to steal firearms from their homes and businesses.”

It is bad enough that AB-173 infringes on law-abiding gun owners’ constitutional rights in multiple ways. But the harm that it creates is even worse; once that personal information is released, it cannot be undone. That is why NRA-ILA is asking the court to prohibit the Cal DoJ from releasing the information before gun owners have had their day in court.

The court has scheduled a hearing on the motion for Wednesday, January 19th. The case is captioned as Doe v. Bonta.