Nashville business leaders are attacking a state bill that would prevent businesses from imposing blanket no-weapons policies on customers inside their stores.
Senate Bill 2180/House Bill 1904 is scheduled to be introduced to the Senate Judiciary Committee at its meeting Tuesday at 1 p.m.
Currently, state law allows business owners to post signs prohibiting customers from bringing weapons into the store. SB2180/HB1904 would repeal this and, starting July 1, would allow business patrons with concealed carry permits or enhanced handgun permits to carry weapons when entering a business.
But the proposal would allow business owners to “upon request” confront customers and instruct them to carry weapons outside, the bill says. If you are confronted by a business owner, you will be required to remove firearms and other weapons from the premises.
Sponsored by Sens. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald and Rep. Monty Fritz, R-Kingston, the law would allow more people to fight back against incidents of violence in the community, where they are normally unarmed. , which they claim will help prevent future violent attacks. .
The bill states that “acts of mass violence typically occur in gun-free areas.” “Allowing authorized persons to carry concealed handguns in designated gun-free areas would increase the level of deterrence against those who would commit acts of mass violence.”
The bill also seeks to reduce the penalties for unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class B misdemeanor, to trespassing, a Class C misdemeanor. There have been no Class B misdemeanor convictions for people illegally carrying weapons in Tennessee in the past five years, state officials said.
The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce issued an “action alert” email to its members on Monday warning that the law could restrict property rights.
“SB2180/HB1904 puts business owners in a dangerous position by requiring them to confront and remove armed individuals within their business premises, regardless of our company's firearms policies,” the chamber said. There is. “Sponsors claim that this bill expands the rights of gun owners, but this bill would allow licensed gun owners to carry firearms onto our nation's facilities and “We will not be able to safely limit the proliferation of guns within the country.”
