NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A bill making its way through the Tennessee legislature would prevent business owners from trying to stop all gun owners from bringing weapons onto their property.
The bill, SB 1037, was introduced by Senator John Stevens (R - Huntington). It deletes the former language of the state code and replaces it with new language restricting the kinds of gun restrictions that most business owners can implement.
It passed the House Civil Justice Subcommittee on March 21 and will be discussed by the House Civil Justice Committee on March 29.
It would only allow individuals, corporations, business entities, or government entities to enact restrictions that limit gun possession to people with an "enhanced handgun carry permit" or a "concealed carry permit," as long as those gun owners keep their guns concealed.
Business owners, government agencies and other kinds of privately-owned areas in the state are currently able to totally prohibit guns from their property, instead of only restricting them to people who have certain permits.
It is expected to be discussed in the General Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The bill's House of Representatives version, HB 0746, was introduced by Representative Jody Barrett (R - Dickson). The bill is expected to be discussed in the Civil Justice Subcommittee on Tuesday.
According to the bill's fiscal note, only one person has been convicted for illegally having a gun on some property where they were prohibited over the past five fiscal years.