KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Knox County public libraries will now allow some people to carry guns inside, after a policy change from Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
"I am a strong gun rights advocate," he said in a statement. "I made the decision to discontinue the policy of prohibiting concealed carry in Knox County libraries after a constituent brought the issue to my attention saying, ‘Self-defense should not end in the parking lot of the library.’”
The decision came late last week and is already in effect, according to the mayor's office. They've placed new signs at library entrances, which show guns are still prohibited except as outlined in TCA § 39-17-1366.
An email from Mayor Jacobs' policy advisor — Andrew Davis — to county commissioners on Wednesday references a new interpretation of TCA § 39-17-1359.
"According to TCA § 39-17-1359, the Mayor has changed our policy on firearms in the library. Previously, they were prohibited," he wrote. "We believe that TCA § 39-17-1359 mandates that handgun carry permit holders be allowed to carry in our libraries."
He said that decision required no action from county commissioners, but he wanted them to be informed in case they heard from constituents.
"The mayor is merely observing what is the trend in this country and where the law is," attorney T. Scott Jones said while referencing a number of Supreme Court decisions that ruled in favor of gun rights this year. "In this particular case, we're talking about a municipal library ... It is quasi-governmental and so we have that situation in which the mayor has made a conscious decision that, if you will, the right to carry a weapon doesn't stop at the parking lot to the library."
While Tennessee is a permitless carry state, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security offers five types of handgun permits. It's not immediately clear how many of those would allow people to carry at the public library.