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<\/p>\nNASHVILLE, Tenn.\u00a0\u2014 The Tennessee General Assembly has approved Gov. Bill Lee’s legislation to allow most adults to carry handguns without obtaining a permit, a measure some Republicans sought for years to pass.<\/p>\n
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Governor Bill Lee talks with the media after attending a briefing with the Dr. Deborah Birx and other health officials in Nashville, Tenn. Monday, July 27, 2020 The bill moves to the governor’s desk amid a renewed debate on gun violence and firearm laws in the U.S. after mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado, claimed the lives of a combined 18 people.<\/p>\n The push for expanded gun access in Tennessee illustrates a wider effort seen in other Republican-led states such as\u00a0Iowa and\u00a0Indiana, where lawmakers have advanced bills that would strike down permit and license restrictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Boulder shooting: <\/strong>Suspect’s gun looked like a rifle. But it’s a pistol. Experts worry it’s helping people skirt gun laws<\/span><\/p>\n Tennessee’s permitless carry bill, which supporters have dubbed “constitutional carry,” passed the Tennessee House of Representatives 64-29 on Monday night. Just five House Republicans voted against it. The bill was\u00a0approved in the state Senate on March 18\u00a0and can now be signed into law by the governor.<\/p>\n The law, which will take effect July 1, allows for both open and concealed carrying\u00a0of handguns\u00a0for people 21 and older without a permit\u00a0as well as for military members 18 to 20. It does not apply to long guns, a point of contention among gun rights activists.<\/p>\n “This bill is not the end of the journey,” Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, said from the floor Monday evening, confirming an appetite remains in the GOP-controlled legislature to remove more gun restrictions in the future.<\/p>\n “This is a massive step forward for freedom,” Lamberth said.<\/p>\n Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, bottom, bumps fists with Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, after Lamberth's bill allowing most adults to carry handguns without obtaining a permit passed, Monday, March 29, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo: Mark Humphrey, AP)<\/span><\/p>\n Previously: <\/strong>As Democrats press for national gun control, GOP states move to expand firearm access<\/span><\/p>\n Lee’s administration has estimated the legislation will cost the state as much as $20 million annually. The bill\u00a0is backed by the National Rifle Association but opposed by the state’s leading law enforcement groups, which have argued the change could increase crime and officer vulnerability.<\/p>\n Tennessee joins 18 other states that have approved some version of permitless carry.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It seems that more is never enough when it comes to gun laws in this state,” said Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis.<\/p>\n Gun issues\u00a0have re-emerged\u00a0on the national level as well:\u00a0President Joe Biden last week pressed\u00a0Congress to pass two House bills that would “close loopholes in the background system,” referencing legislation that would expand the number of instances when a background check is necessary for purchasing or transferring a firearm.<\/p>\n In Colorado, the Boulder shooter purchased an assault weapon six days before police say he carried out a mass shooting at a grocery store. Authorities have said he bought the gun legally.<\/p>\n Fact check: <\/strong>No evidence Colorado shooting suspect entered country, bought gun, illegally<\/span><\/p>\n The accused gunman in the Atlanta spa shootings bought a firearm at Big Woods Goods, a sporting goods store in Holly Springs, Georgia,\u00a0just hours before the attacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n While removing the misdemeanor offense for most people of carrying a handgun without a permit, the bill also increases punishments for certain gun crimes.<\/p>\n The legislation\u00a0boosts theft of a firearm from a misdemeanor to a felony and mandates six months of incarceration for the offense, up from the current 30-day sentence. It also bars felons convicted of possessing a firearm from early release.<\/p>\n Beyond felons and those convicted of domestic violence offenses, the new permitless carry right will not\u00a0extend to people with a conviction\u00a0of stalking, those with\u00a0a recent DUI conviction or individuals who have been committed by the court to a mental institution.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lee announced last year he was endorsing an effort to pass a permitless carry bill.\u00a0But his plans were derailed as the pandemic worsened and the Senate announced it would take up only time-sensitive legislation.<\/p>\n Gun ownership: <\/strong>Lindsey Graham says he owns an AR-15 in case of a ‘natural disaster’ and ‘gangs’<\/span><\/p>\n In 2019,\u00a0the Tennessee Legislature passed a bill\u00a0allowing individuals\u00a0to opt to take a much shorter online class\u00a0to receive a basic permit, rather than an all-day in person course.<\/p>\n Lamberth on Monday said people “don’t understand firearms” if they think the in-person course required under current state law will\u00a0make someone proficient in gun use.<\/p>\n “I found it to be not a complete waste of time, but not extraordinarily helpful,” Lamberth said of the class he took.<\/p>\n In a nod to some gun rights activists who believe Lee’s permitless carry bill should extend further, Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, unsuccessfully attempted to amend the bill to apply to those 18 and older, as opposed to 21, as well as to all firearms, rather than just handguns.<\/p>\n Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, asked Lamberth why the bill did not apply to 18- to 20-year-olds or to all types of guns, based on supporters’ argument that most everyone should be allowed to freely carry a firearm, per the Second Amendment.<\/p>\n Lamberth said this particular bill merely extended the right to everyone currently old enough to obtain a carry permit under state law.<\/p>\n Miller filed six amendments to the bill, including one to reimburse those who have previously purchased a lifetime gun permit but will no longer need it, though none of his changes were applied to the bill.<\/p>\n
\n (Photo: Larry McCormack \/ The Tennessean)<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/03\/30\/USAT\/6d4d4e5e-8fc9-4f98-9474-815a5ef7a7cc-AP_Guns_Tennessee.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\nNearly 20 states allow some version of permitless carry<\/h2>\n
Tennessee bill\u00a0removes offense for most to carry handgun\u00a0without permit, but boosts other gun crimes<\/h2>\n