“Guns In Bars” Measure Sails Through Senate Committee

This year’s so-called “guns in bars” bill gathered momentum in the General Assembly Tuesday in both House and Senate committees.

Last year, the legislature voted to allow handguns in businesses that serve alcohol, but that law was ruled unconstitutionally vague by a state judge. This year’s measure is an attempt to tweak the law so that it could stand up in court.
Lobbyist Dan Haskell represents the Tennessee Hospitality Association, which opposes the bill. He says the new version is much larger in scope.

“And this year’s bill includes not only restaurants and hotels,.. private clubs, bars out on the county line, places that only have beer licenses.”

The new bill sailed easily through the Senate Judiciary Committee with only two “no” votes. Now it’s headed for the full Senate.

In the House Finance Committee, Nashville Democrat Gary Odom tried to add an amendment that would increase the punishment for someone who drinks while carrying a weapon. The committee adjourned without taking final action on the bill.

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The Senate bill passed 7-2 in Senate Judiciary, slowed down not so much by the token opposition expressed by Sen. Jim Kyle and Sen. Beverly Marrero of Memphis, but by the 20-minute soliloquy by the sponsor, Sen. Doug Jackson of Dickson. Jackson and five Republicans voted for the bill.

The House version was left in limbo – in theory the committee could reconvene this week and take up the bill again. Otherwise the committee would meet next week.

The bill is SB 3012 Jackson/HB 3125 Todd, here:
http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB3012