NASHVILLE — A spokesman for the Tennessee Republican Party on Thursday requested a database of all Tennessee handgun carry permit holders — the same day his boss, state GOP Chairman Robin Smith, blasted Democrats for killing legislation aimed at closing off such records to the public.

State Department of Safety spokesman Mike Browning said state GOP communications director Bill Hobbs made the request Thursday morning.

Later in the day, Mr. Hobbs issued a news release charging that House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, and his “anti-gun gang ran roughshod over commonly-accepted parliamentary procedures in order to kill legislation that would have made carry permit holders more secure by protecting their personal identity.”

Mrs. Smith, who is from Hixson, said “gun owners and carry permit holders should target their votes and their campaign donations accordingly to ensure their rights in Tennessee.”

The bill makes information about the estimated 190,000 handgun permit holders exempt from state open records act provisions and makes it a crime to publish the information.

Speaker Naifeh helped kill the measure Thursday after proponents moved it through a House panel when legislative opponents were absent.

Mr. Hobbs said in an e-mail that “we are aware of the irony in our requesting a copy of public records that we thought should not be public — however, we also believe Speaker Naifeh’s actions against the interest of law-abiding gun owners this week were so egregious as to deserve a thorough response through the campaign process.”

For complete coverage see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.