The Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) is looking for plaintiffs to take part in a possible lawsuit against the state of Tennessee pertaining to the state’s gun-free zones.
A lawsuit is being prepared for filing in state court against the State of Tennessee that will address gun-free zones and whether those zones violate the constitution, according to the TFA.
The TFA is looking for two to five individuals willing to be named plaintiffs in the case who meet the following criteria:
- Individuals who are a) concealed-only permit holders, OR b) in the age bracket of 18-19.
- Individuals must actively carry or desire to carry a firearm for personal protection, including in areas that are currently statutory gun-free zones.
- Individuals must live or reside in Crockett, Gibson and/or Haywood counties.
The TFA is encouraging those interested in taking part in the lawsuit as named plaintiffs to contact John Harris at tennesseefirearms.com.
In the case of those who live in other “red” parts of the state outside of the counties required to be plaintiffs in this lawsuit but who are willing to be a plaintiff on 2nd Amendment issues, the TFA encourages them not to despair because more lawsuits are “being evaluated.”
The TFA also said those who would like to “help restore our rights by filing these lawsuits, especially when legislators have broken their constitutional oaths and campaign promises,” to consider donating to the organization to offset the legal costs and expenses. The TFA is also requesting the public to simply spread the news of the lawsuits to friends, family, and on social media.
— TN Firearms Assoc. (@TennFirearms) January 6, 2023
Citing Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1307(a)(1), the TFA has argued in the past that, “Tennessee law makes it a crime for anyone to carry a firearm “with the intent to go armed’.”
“The fact is, because of this statute, the Legislature has defined the entire state as a gun free zone, including all personally owned real property. The fact that your home, your farm, your place of business are defined as “gun free zones” – FOR YOU – by the Tennessee Legislature is proven by the fact that state law makes it an affirmative defense, and puts the burden on you, to prove that you on your own property or in your own home at the time that you were carrying a firearm ‘with the intent to go armed’,” the TFA stated.
“It could be concluded that many of Tennessee’s existing “gun laws” laws are unconstitutional at least to the extent that similar laws did not exist at the time that the Second Amendment was adopted in 1791,” the TFA added.
The organization has previously called gun-free zones “soft targets” for mass killings.
The TFA is a non-profit organization that “seeks to protect the right to bear arms, to restore the government to citizen control, and maintain what it believes is the original intent of both the Bill of Rights and the Tennessee Constitution.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Man Holding Gun” by Marco Verch Professional Photographer. CC BY 2.0.
