Tennessee Firearms Assoc. Inc.

Could SOMEONE please explain to me WHY I pay only $10 for my background check to buy a firearm from a FFL, but it costs $115 for my permit?

Yes, I know there's bureaucratic "logic" involved in this.

The $10 fee came on in 1998 from a conversation with Frank Buck and the TBI (I was present) where Frank was concerned about FBI doing the checks at a cost that was estimated publicly to be about $27 per transaction. Frank said that was too high and when inquiry was made it was determined that Davidson only charged $10. The thought was $10 was better than $27 and that is where the $10 came from.

The $15 was pulled out of thin air. As part of the hearings in 1995 and 1996 over why it was taking up to a year to get the background checks done on the permits, it was the excuse of the government that they did not have reliable equipment or databases for fingerprints. I think it was Frank Buck again - but don't quote me without letting me look at my notes - who said we could just tack on an extra $15 to the $100 maximum processing fee and earmark the $15 for improving fingerprinting and the database.

That is the kind of history lesson you will not get from having 5 different lobbyist work Tennessee since 1994 but that you can get when you have 1 lobbyist for an extended period.....

Bob,

My guess is this is what we get when gun-hating Democrats are in charge. In other Southern (and Western/Mid-West) states where Democrats who do NOT hate guns are in charge, the prices are a lot lower. I think Alabama is 10 a year, for example.

No, our current speaker and his cronies are anti-gun, and love to tax/fee/charge/screw us out of a few bucks here and there.

Well, the $100 was established in 1996. It was increased by 1998 to $115.

The $100 was based upon estimates from the Tennessee Department of Safety regarding how many more additional employees it would require to process these applications, additional equipment, benefits, etc. It also includes that they estimated to be charges from TBI and FBI for doing the background checks (that is why the renewal fee is only $50).