Here's something that should matter to every gun owner in Tennessee: the state is desperately trying to hang onto laws that a court already ruled are unconstitutional. Governor Lee's administration appealed a landmark decision striking down two antiquated statutes — the "Going Armed" law and the Parks Statute.
A three-judge Chancery Court panel found these laws violate the Second Amendment. The "Going Armed" statute essentially criminalized ordinary public carry based on vague "intent" language, while the Parks Statute broadly prohibited carry across public recreational areas.
But here's what really gets me: these aren't new restrictions. These are leftovers from Reconstruction, originally designed to keep freed slaves and other disfavored groups disarmed. The state knows they're unconstitutional under modern Second Amendment standards, yet they're still fighting to keep them on the books.
The state's lawyers spent most of their appellate argument on procedural technicalities — claiming the court didn't have jurisdiction — rather than actually defending the laws on merit. That tells me they know these laws can't survive constitutional scrutiny.
The plaintiffs' attorney made the right points: states can't use procedural tricks to defeat rights that federal courts would otherwise uphold. Since Heller, Bruen, and Rahimi, the Supreme Court has been clear that the right to keep and bear arms is fundamental.
Tennessee already has constitutional carry. We don't need these confusing, unconstitutional remnants cluttering the books and creating problems for honest citizens. The Court of Appeals should affirm the lower court's ruling and let these Jim Crow-era laws finally die.
This case matters beyond Tennessee too. It could set precedent for how courts handle vague carry restrictions and blanket prohibitions on public land.