Re: Birchtree's account talk
Floridians have requested 187,162 concealed-weapon permit applications over the last six months - an 82 percent increase compared with a year earlier. This is since Obama got into office. The state has a back log of 93,000 applications and has recently hired 61 workers to process them. Jobs without a stimulus package, that's progress.
A job is a job.
This article is from a Memphis Tennessee newspaper which recently published a link to a database that provides the names and other personal information of all gun permit holders in the state. A lot of folks were highly pissed and protested that the list was published. Looks like some of the higher ups got the message. Personally, I don't care who knows I carry, but I'd rather not advertise the fact in the paper. I prefer the element of surprise.
Gun laws get push in Tennessee House committee
NASHVILLE -- The legislature began fast-tracking bills Thursday to let people with carry permits take guns into state and local parks and establishments serving alcohol -- all places where they are currently banned.
The House handgun study committee also recommended making secret the list of Tennessee's 219,236 gun-carry permit holders and to penalize any publication of their identities. Shelby County has 32,934 permit licensees.
The panel recommended four bills on which Chairman Joe McCord, R-Maryville, said there is broad consensus to approve. All four are set for the criminal justice subcommittee next week and could reach floor votes in March.
Lawmakers said the parks bill would prohibit cities and counties from restricting handguns in their local parks, playgrounds and ball fields.
Current Tennessee law outlaws guns in all state and local parks, playgrounds and ball fields other than by law enforcement officers.
The bill allowing guns in places serving alcohol, including restaurants, was recommended with a provision forbidding guns after 11 p.m.
The new Republican majority has made the bills' passage a virtual certainty after years of defeat. McCord said The Commercial Appeal's posting of a searchable database of permit holders on its Web site also prompted swift action.
"We've been working on this for several years, actually, but there has been a tremendous outcry to legislative offices from constituents across the state in response to that. They don't think the lists should be published."
National Rifle Association lobbyist Heidi Keesling discussed scheduling the bills in committees with lawmakers after the committee adjourned.
Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, who moved for approval of the secrecy bill, said "It's no concern of mine" when asked afterward if the bill's penalties for publishing raised First Amendment concerns.
Chris Peck, editor of The Commercial Appeal, said, "Clearly, the Second Amendment gives Tennessee citizens the right to be armed. That's not the issue here. People of Tennessee need to think about whether there is a public interest in knowing who is permitted to carry a weapon in the state.
"I think there is. When a concealed or carried weapon comes out public, what happens next with that gun can affect the lives of everyone within range of that firearm."
Peck said commercialappeal.com's link to the data has attracted more than 500,000 page views in the last three months.
"To me, this shows the level of public interest in this public information," he said.
Officials in Memphis and its suburbs expressed differing views on the guns-in-parks bill.
Memphis City Councilman Shea Flinn, a member of the parks committee, said he understands allowing licensees to take guns into large state parks but questioned the wisdom of allowing them in smaller city parks.
"If you feel like you can't take your kid to the swing sets without packing heat, we've got a much bigger problem than just throwing more guns at it," he said.
Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman said, "Personal protection is something that people feel strongly about, but I don't know why it should be so pressing to extend that to parks."
Germantown Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy said making it easier to bring guns into city parks and ball fields "feels ill-advised. This is not a good mix of where guns should be. "We've worked hard to create an environment that feels safe."
A Tennessee legislative study committee on handguns recommended approval of four bills to serve as the basis for legislative action this year, all subject to debate and amendments:
HB962: Allows handgun-carry permit holders to take guns into places serving alcohol until 11 p.m., unless owners post signs banning guns.
HB959: Makes gun-carry permit records confidential and levies fines for publishing them.
HB960: Allows permit holders to carry guns into all state and local parks.
HB961: Allows permit holders to carry handguns into state wildlife management areas.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/feb/19/tennessee-house-advances-bills-dealing-guns/
