Firearms and Ammunition

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms or consequences.

Tennessee Law About Carrying Guns Near Schools

This bill changes Tennessee's laws to consider individuals who are legally allowed to own firearms under the state constitution as being individually licensed and verified by the state for carrying guns near schools, provided they have not been convicted of a violent felony.

What This Bill Does

• Clarifies that anyone lawfully able to possess or own a firearm in Tennessee under the state's constitution is considered individually licensed and verified by the state within the meaning of the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act.
• This applies only if the person has not been convicted of a violent felony.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who can legally own or carry firearms in Tennessee under state laws and constitution.
• Schools and areas around them where people might be carrying guns.

Terms To Know

Gun-Free School Zones Act

A federal law that makes it illegal to have a gun within a certain distance of schools, with some exceptions for licensed individuals.

Violent felony crime

A serious crime involving violence that can result in jail time.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how this change will be enforced or what the consequences might be.
• It is unclear if and when other states might make similar changes to their laws.

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

HOUSE BILL 1821
By Russell

SENATE BILL 1897
By Bowling
SB1897
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.