NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A new bill aims to allow enhanced gun license holders to bring a firearm into Tennessee businesses that don’t allow them.
The author of HB 2032, proposed by state Rep. Jody Barrett (R-Dickson), said this is because most people with gun licenses are law-abiding citizens. The bill “As introduced, removes the offense of possessing a weapon in a building that prohibits or restricts weapons; allows a person with an enhanced handgun carry permit to carry a handgun into a business that prohibits or restricts weapons; removes penalties for violations of certain firearms provisions.”
Barrett claims the real issue is when a gun is left in a car or home and a criminal gets ahold of it.
News 2 went around Nashville Thursday, Jan. 25 to ask people their thoughts.
“I don’t like going anywhere without my firearm. I feel unsafe, and I feel like I can’t protect myself if something happens,” one woman said.
“If somebody tries to cause trouble [here], I tell them, ‘I give you five seconds. If you don’t be out of the store, I have to call the police,'” gas station employee Waled Dawfeek explained. “Sometimes I see it on their side of back pocket, but I make sure they never touch it.”
Barrett wasn’t able to speak with News 2 on camera Thursday. However, he wrote in a statement that if an employee notices the gun and doesn’t feel comfortable, they can ask them to leave. If that person doesn’t leave, they can be charged with trespassing.