Firearms and Ammunition

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms or potential conflicts with existing state laws.

Tennessee Bill to Allow Gun Possession Near Schools

This bill changes Tennessee's laws about guns near schools by stating that individuals who are legally allowed to own firearms under state and federal laws do not need additional licenses to be in school zones.

What This Bill Does

• Clarifies that a person who has not been convicted of a violent felony crime and is lawfully able to own or possess a firearm under the Constitution of Tennessee is considered individually licensed and verified by this state within the meaning of the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act.

Who It Names or Affects

• Individuals who are legally allowed to own firearms under Tennessee's Constitution
• School zones within Tennessee

Terms To Know

Constitution of Tennessee, Article I, Section 26

The part of Tennessee’s constitution that talks about people’s rights to have guns.

Gun-Free School Zones Act

A federal law that makes it illegal for someone to carry a gun in or near schools without special permission.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how the change will be enforced or what happens if people break the rules.
• It is unclear how this legislation might affect existing state laws about carrying guns.

Official Summary Text

T
he federal Gun-Free School Zones Act

(the "Act") generally
makes it a federal crime to knowingly possess or discharge a firearm in a school zone
, which is defined as
the grounds of a public, private, or parochial school, or within 1,000 feet of such grounds
. However, t
he Act exempts
certain
individuals licensed by the state or a political subdivision
of the state. F
or a license to exempt an individual,
t
he Act requires
the issuing authority
to
have verified that the individual is legally permitted to po
ssess the firearm.

This exemption generally applies to state-issued concealed carry permits, allowing permit holders to legally carry or pass through a school zone.

Article 1, Section 26 of the Constitution of Tennessee provides that
the citizens of this
s
tate have a right to keep and to bear arms for their common defense
,
but the
l
egislature
has the
power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.
I
n consideration
of the
right to keep and bear arms
as
protected and reserved to the people in the Constitution of Tennessee,
this bill clarifies that
a person who has not been convicted of a violen
t
felony crime and who is lawfully able to own
or to possess a firearm under the Constitution of Tennessee is considered to be individually licensed and verified by this state within the meaning of the provisions regarding individual licensure and verification in the Act
.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1897
By Bowling

HOUSE BILL 1821
By Russell
HB1821
011094
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
relative to weapons.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13, is amended by
adding the following new section:
Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, in consideration that the right to
keep and bear arms is protected and reserved to the people in Article I, § 26, of the
Constitution of Tennessee, a person who has not been convicted of a violent, felony
crime and who is lawfully able to own or to possess a firearm under the Constitution of
Tennessee is considered to be individually licensed and verified by this state within the
meaning of the provisions regarding individual licensure and verification in the federal
Gun-Free School Zones Act.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.