Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Featured

    Permits Won’t Be Needed to Carry Handguns in Tennessee

    Article submittedBy Article submittedApril 9, 2021Updated:April 9, 2021No Comments3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    Tennessee has become the latest state to soon allow most adults 21 and older to carry handguns without first clearing a background check and training after Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed the measure into law.
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Tennessee has become the latest state to soon allow most adults 21 and older to carry handguns without first clearing a background check and training after Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed the measure into law.

    “I signed constitutional carry today because it shouldn’t be hard for law-abiding Tennesseans to exercise their (Second Amendment) rights,” said Lee, a Republican approaching his reelection campaign for 2022, in a tweet.

    Lee initially proposed the National Rifle Association-backed legislation last year before the COVID-19 pandemic caused lawmakers to narrow their focus. He renewed that effort when lawmakers returned for this year’s legislative session, where the GOP-controlled General Assembly easily advanced the measure to his desk.

    The measure applies to handguns that are concealed and ones that are openly carried, but it does not apply to long guns. The law will take effect July 1.

    Under the new law, adults 21 and older and military members between 18 and 20 will be allowed to open or concealed carry handguns without a permit. The law also increases certain penalties. For example, theft of a firearm _ now a misdemeanor that carries a 30-day sentence _ will become a felony with a mandatory six month incarceration. It also makes exceptions for people with certain mental illnesses and criminal convictions.

    Nationwide, at least six states are also weighing similar measures this year, with supporters eager to join nearly 20 others that currently don’t require permits for the concealed carry of handguns. Meanwhile, more than 30 states allow for permitless open carry.

    Supporters of the bill argued that the proposal includes harsher penalties for those who commit certain gun-related crimes, with the governor setting aside $17.7 million in his budget plan for the bill largely due to an anticipated increase in incarceration.

    However, law enforcement groups _ including police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors _ have largely opposed the move and consider the state’s existing permit system an important safeguard for knowing who should or shouldn’t be carrying a gun.

    Asked whether recent mass shootings in Georgia, Colorado and others gave him any concern about timing, Lee has previously said the increased penalties mean that “we in fact will be strengthening laws that would help prevent gun crimes in the future.”

    The permitless carry law comes after Lee and Republican lawmakers relaxed the state’s handgun law in 2019 by allowing people to obtain a concealed-carry-only handgun permit that didn’t require them to demonstrate ability to fire a weapon. The new permits became available at the start of 2020.

    Governor Bill Lee Permitless Carry Tennessee
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Article submitted

    Related Posts

    xAI in Memphis: Where pollution meets profit

    August 22, 2025

    Op-Ed: The $6.5M lesson for Metro schools

    August 21, 2025

    TSU to Build $50M Engineering Facility

    August 21, 2025

    Allegations of civil rights violations at Ascension St. Thomas Midtown

    August 20, 2025

    Fisk University Earns National Recognition for Commitment to First-Generation Student Success

    August 17, 2025

    State’s new anti-DEI law ends minority business programs in Memphis

    August 16, 2025

    Comments are closed.

    Advertisement
    Business

    NBCC MINORITY BUSINESS OF THE WEEK: Flying Dress

    August 20, 2025

    Toon appointed new role at MMCV

    August 16, 2025

    FARM BUREAU INSURANCE OF TENNESSEE CEO JEFF PANNELL ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

    August 11, 2025
    1 2 3 … 386 Next
    Education
    Education

    TSU to Build $50M Engineering Facility

    By Alexis ClarkAugust 21, 2025

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University is taking a step toward a future-ready campus…

    Fisk University Earns National Recognition for Commitment to First-Generation Student Success

    August 17, 2025

    Dr. Belle Wheelan Retires, Leaving Southern Colleges Stronger and More Accountable

    August 17, 2025

    APSU’s Meisch named to Clarksville-Montgomery County IDB board of directors

    August 11, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/