Tennessee Bill Would Allow Open Carry of Handguns Without a Permit

NASHVILLE, TN — A Republican legislator introduced a bill this week which would eliminate the need for a permit to carry a handgun openly, but, according to The Tennessean, a top gun lobbyist isn't convinced the effort has much chance of passing the General Assembly.

State Rep. Micah Van Huss, a Jonesborough Republican, filed the bill this week, though it is much the same as similar legislation he has sponsored in the past. The bill would apply only to handguns, not other firearms, and does not eliminate the permit requirement for concealed carry.

Twenty-nine states have some form of permitless carry.

As yet the bill has no sponsor in the Senate and John Harris, executive director of the Tennessee Firearms Association, told The Tennessean given the make-up of the the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full and subcommittee of House Civil Justice, Van Huss's bill may never see the floor of the legislature, as the members and leadership of those committees, though dominated in both chambers by the GOP, have not been supportive of similar efforts in the past.

Harris told the newspaper Van Huss's bill is a step in the right direction, but that the TFA supports what it calls "constitutional carry," which would remove all permitting requirements.

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