TN Parking lot bill: Haslam says excluding campuses is key to the deal
Our governor says that exclusion may get the bill to pass and he will fight to keep schools out of the final bill. And, you know, no violent crimes from which you may need to defend yourself are ever committed on campuses. Right?
Via David, with the irony.
December 5th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
See, this is why libertarians are our own worst enemy.
Gun rights will get greater protection than it does today and many libertarians act like they lost.
Haslam “compromises away rights” the way that congress “cuts spending”.
December 5th, 2012 at 11:37 pm
What else could we have expected. I remember when Knoxville voted to keep their ban on guns in the city’s parks. Haslam tried his best to blend in with the furniture during Q&A and debate, and eventually abstained from the vote so as to not offend either side since he wanted to be governor.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:04 am
Don’t remember campus carry being part of the discussion last year…
Maybe he’s trying to find something that will poison this year’s efforts.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:03 am
rickn8or: It’s not really “campus carry.” The same issue came up last year. For whatever reason, people think that someone who’s sane at Walmart, MacDonald’s, or Kroger is going to magically turn insane and kill everyone in sight once they cross the magical invisible school boundary line.
Shorter Bill Haslam: The people trusted to teach your children can’t be trusted not to kill them.
December 6th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
As Governor, Bill Haslam took an oath to the State Constitution and is therefore DUTY-BOUND to support it which includes the Tennessee Declaration of Rights, Article I, Section 26 of which enumerates our RIGHT to carry arms for self-defense. The only delegated power to the Legislature is how we WEAR the arms (holstered, concealed, open, etc) and NOT IF, WHEN OR WHERE we choose to exercise our right to carry. Instead he is supporting the politically-correct, leftist mantra of “gun-free” zones which are well-documented to serve only the desires of mass-murders.
December 6th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
wizardpc, thanks for pointing out the distinction and refreshing my memory.
It never ceases to amaze me how whenever something like this comes up, the Tennessee legislature is incapable of looking at other states’ laws and doing a cut-and-paste, but has to reinvent the wheel. (Usually a four-cornered one.)
December 6th, 2012 at 9:13 pm
Our state university tried to ignore the parking lot carry requirement but caved under threat of suit.
The perfect is the enemy of the good. Push for all parking lots as long as possible, but take the deal and fix it later if that’s what getting it for everywhere except campuses will require. Play the political game and eat the elephant in small bites; it’s better than no elephant at all.
December 7th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Matthew:
We in TN are a little reluctant to do that. The reason is that we couldn’t carry in parks until 2009(?). The compromise was that we got carry in State parks, but city and county parks could actively vote to ban carry. The result is that after the something-like-3%-of-localities voted to ban park carry, we now have this mishmash of where we can and can’t. Go here, no problem. Go there, misdemeanant.
I moved to a new town about a year after this law went in to effect. I couldn’t find any news report, council meeting minutes, or ordinance passed that would indicate guns are banned in city parks. If you call the parks folks and ask, they’ll tell you the city voted to ban park carry. They can’t tell you when, or what the ordinance number is, or the vote split, or give you any evidence whatsoever other than their assertions. Call the city and you get the same thing.
So, can I carry in my city park? Probably. Do I want find out the hard way? Nope.
I was one of the folks like you: Take what we can get now, and fix it later. The problem with that approach is that “fix it later” rarely happens. “That issue has been resolved–no need to revisit it” is what you’ll hear from legislators now.