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Tennessee senator sidelines gun-carry bill that worried businesses, continues 2nd bill opposed by law enforcement

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / A sign on the door of Tailgate Brewery, on Market Street, prohibits weapons inside the business. The photograph was made on Monday.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / A sign on the door of Tailgate Brewery, on Market Street, prohibits weapons inside the business. The photograph was made on Monday. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / A sign on the door of Tailgate Brewery, on Market Street, prohibits weapons inside the business. The photograph was made on Monday.

By Andy Sher 4 min read

NASHVILLE — A Tennessee gun-carry bill that businesses and others felt put them on their back heels is dead for the remainder of the General Assembly’s 2023-24 session.

Senate Bill 1037 sought to create an exemption in the law that currently allows an individual, corporation, business entity or government to post signs prohibiting possession of weapons by anyone, including employees with a state-issued handgun permit, on their property.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, an attorney, sought to remove the current misdemeanor criminal offense for possession of a weapon in a building for a person who is at a meeting conducted by or on property owned, operated, or managed or under the control of the entity.

That proved too much for members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Stevens this week put the bill in a general subcommittee, signaling the death of the bill.

Stevens put the bill in “general sub,” meaning the measure has been sidelined.