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LEGISLATIVE AGENDA: Tenn. Gun Rights Advocates

tennesseefirearms.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  As the Tennessee General Assembly gets its new legislative session underway this week, WMOT News begins exploring the legislative priorities of the state's most influential political leaders, organizations and institutions.

We begin with John Harris, Executive Director of the pro-gun group Tennessee Firearms Association. Harris says his membership will again be  pushing the  legislature to pass what he calls “constitutional carry,” the right to carry a firearm openly anywhere, anytime.

“You should be able to carry the firearm for self-defense purposes, without having to have a background check, state mandated training, or pay the state a fee, to essentially exercise a fundamental right.”

Tennessee has always been a gun friendly state. In recent years, legislators have passed a number of measures that significantly loosen the state’s gun laws. This past session, for example, the legislature passed a measure allowing some faculty and staff to carry firearms on Tennessee's public college campuses.

But Harris isn’t satisfied with the pace of change and has repeatedly accused Tennessee’s Republican leadership for obstructing deeper reforms.

“The relationship with those who want to put big business or big government ahead of constitutional rights is somewhat, I would say, strained; largely because of the poor choices that they’ve made.”

Referring to her “the pink elephant in the room,” Harris openly called for House Speaker Beth Harwell to be replaced with a more gun friendly legislator this session, but the GOP Caucus voted to return her to that post. The vote was, however, closer than it’s been in past sessions.

Still, Harris says the election of Donald Trump to the presidency gives him confidence that the political climate is shifting in a positive direction for gun rights advocates.

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