Tennessee Firearms Assoc. Inc.

Dear Mayor Thornburg,

Please be advised, as a resident of the state of Tennessee, I respectfully ask you, as leaders of the town of Belle Meade, to re-consider and do not pass Ordinance 2010-2. This legislation will cause crime to increase in your well respected community, and may even cause loss of life. Criminals do not obey laws! If they know that Belle Meade is a "gun free zone" they will take advantage of this like a punk in a candy store with no clerk. I still do not understand why people can't grasp this!

In addition to the danger you will be forcing your citizens to face, you will also spend a large portion of their tax dollars to fight the lawsuit which the NRA will undoubtedly file. Please be smarter than Washington D.C. and Chicago. Don't violate the Second Amendment of the United States or Tennessee's state constitution. By disarming law-abiding citizens, you will be in clear violation of Tennessee's preemption statutes. You can't win it, so in essence you will be stealing money for legal fees from every Belle Meade resident.

Sincerely,

Ben Burke

Chattanooga, TN


Tennessee: Right-to-Carry Ban Proposed in Belle Meade!


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Please Stand Up and Make Your Voices Heard!

On Wednesday, March 17, the Belle Meade Board of Commissioners will consider a proposed ordinance (Ordinance 2010-2) that would forbid any person with a handgun carry permit to carry within the city limits.

Not only does this legislation create a victim zone inside Belle Meade by disarming law-abiding citizens, it is also a clear violation of Tennessee’s preemption statutes.

The Board of Commissioners will meet at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the Belle Meade City Hall located at 4705 Harding Road.

Please make plans to attend Wednesday’s hearing and voice your opposition to Ordinance 2010-2. If you are unable to attend, please contact the Mayor, Vice-Mayor, and Board of Commissioners TODAY and respectfully urge them to oppose this illegal and ill-conceived proposal. Contact information can be found below.


Telephone: 615-297-6041
Fax: 615-297-0255

Gray O. Thornburg, Mayor
gray.odwonline@comcast.net


James V. Hunt, Sr., Vice-Mayor
jhunt@citybellemeade.org


Tom Corcoran
tcorcoran@corcoranmaddox.com


Cathy Altenbern
caltenbern@citybellemeade.org

George W. Crook
ecrook@comcast.net

If you pass this bill you will be violating Tennessee Statutes and you can bet that you as individuals and as a city will be sued with NRA's backing. I urge you to think about this. You are going to cost tax payers alot of money using our tax dollars to fight this in court. This is not how I want my tax dollars spent as a responsible Tennesseean and responsible gun owner. It is knee jerk reactions such as these that lead to lawsuits etc. Please reconsider this and do not strip us of our second amendment rights. Also, there was a recent study done by some fancy group that statistically showed that in municipalities where hand gun carry was allowed that those areas had a reduced crime rate than the areas where the citizens were unarmed. You are about to make the citizens of Belle Meade easy pickings for thugs, meth heads, crack heads, pimps, and hustlers. I feel this is a travesty and should be avoided at all cost.




Thanks,

Well, now we know at least one result of someone's stupid stunt...

David

I had wondered if his cap & ball stunt would cause this type of legislation. I almost hate to say this , but the crap he pulled has set our cause back years. You know as I watched the video of the fiasco, the only things that came to mind, "was what the Fuddruckers was this moron thinking" & "Is he trying to go suicide by cop?" Anyway I have sent emails & attempted some phone calls. I bet the NRA would jump on that most likely after TFA started.

I'll be glad to be the plaintiff! This is all too convenient for them.. Like Rham Emanuel said; "Never let a good crisis go to waste." They view this as a crisis, & so they (in their minds) MUST respond with laws to prevent any & all adverse conditions, in typical liberal fashion & thinking..

The real crisis for them will be when they lose in court, & have to pay out to anyone they've arrested based on this bogus ordinance they are proposing, & maybe even Leonard Embody, for singling him out..

Well I'm laid off due to "Liberal Policies", & finding a job has been really tough.. So, I have plenty of time to go to Belle Meade.. Let them arrest me, I'll buy city hall later on, & turn it into a gun shop..

Well, I have good news & bad news..

The good news is that Belle Meade has responded to my concerns saying that they only intend to stop people from Carrying a handgun down the street openly in their hand. They have NO INTENTION of stopping law abiding citizens from carrying, & their ordinance will mirror state law on legal handgun carry. The are basically just cleaning up old statutes to take away excuses for the Embodys of the world..

I personally don't have a problem with not being able to needlessly brandish a handgun..


The bad news.. I will not get to build a gun shop in City Hall in Belle Meade TN...