Tennessee House Republican Leader Gerald McCormickNASHVILLE — On any given Tuesday, legislative committees in the state House are chock-full of bills, with members working until late in the day or early evening.
But last week, most panels were out by noon. The reason? Any number of eager lawmakers were scrambling to finish so they could attend one of the session’s premiere diversions.
That would be the annual “legislative orientation” at the Tullahoma-based Tennessee Army National Guard rifle ranges as well as the federal Arnold Engineering Development Center. At the Guard gun ranges, the invitation reads, lawmakers could test fire weapons, use military simulators and go to the “newest indoor training and urban warfare range.”
That might come in pretty handy this year. A political firefight is blazing in the halls of the Republican-controlled General Assembly over proposals that pit gun-rights groups against private employers.
Legislative leaders such as House Speaker Beth Harwell, of Nashville; House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, of Chattanooga; and Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, of Blountville, are caught in a crossfire between two staunch GOP constituencies.