Congrats to Anti-Gunner on Carry Permit

[Pat McGarrity]

Please join me in congratulating the Grim Reaper of Gun Rights in Tennessee, Anti-Gun Speaker, Jimmy Naifeh, on getting his handgun carry permit. Speaker Naifeh must be planning on going somewhere dangerous. His own Chair of the powerful House Criminal Practice & Procedure Subcommittee, Anti-Gun Rep. Janis Baird-Sontany (D-Nashville), asked a TFA Member; "Why would you go somewhere dangerous where you would need a gun?” when asked about her killing pro-gun bills in committee. (Rep. Baird-Sontany would not kill the bills if Speaker Naifeh wanted them released to the floor so that your representative could vote on them)

Anti-Gun Speaker Naifeh wrote an oxymoronic rationalization of his killing pro-gun bills in committee, again, on April 11, 2008. In this propaganda piece, Speaker Naifeh wrote; that he had "earned" his concealed weapons permit "a few weeks ago". The fact is, he did not even apply for a carry permit until April 21, 2008. Amazingly, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation completed his background check in one day. What record time service! Speaker Naifeh is accustomed to top notch service, his full time, tax-payer funded, State Trooper/Armed Body Guard/Driver and Tennessee Highway Patrol taxi for example. I guess it's good to be king...

From TFA Executive Director, John Harris:

Tennessee Firearms Association, Inc.
Legislative Action Committee


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tennesseans deserve honesty, integrity and truthfulness in elected officials....

This past spring, Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, exercised a power, one which he is willing to abuse, to kill several widely popular "Second Amendment" bills in the Tennessee General Assembly.

This conduct comes as no surprise to constitutionalists and Second Amendment supporters who watched as Jimmy Naifeh ruled on legislation unilaterally like a tyrant rather than to allow all 99 House members to have a representative vote on these bills. For reasons yet unexplained satisfactorily, the Jimmy Naifeh cannot articulate why the elected representatives of all citizens of the state of Tennessee should be routinely denied the opportunity to vote on legislation which Speaker Naifeh disfavors. Such power is not representative government by tyranny.

Speaker Naifeh explained his action in the following press release:


Jimmy Naifeh wrote:

Reason and Balance Key to Protection of Rights
April 11, 2008

Speaker Jimmy Naifeh

“In a healthy nation there is a kind of dramatic balance between the will of the people and the government, which prevents its degeneration into tyranny.”

- Albert Einstein

As many of you may or may not know, the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives has the right to cast a vote in any committee or subcommittee meeting. In my nearly twenty years as Speaker, I have made it a point to use this privilege sparingly and save it for times when I feel such intervention is needed.

This year the House of Representatives has been faced with a number of bills dealing with the topic of guns. As a gun owner myself and someone who supports the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, the issue of gun ownership is a personal one. While I have and will continue to defend a Tennessean’s right to bear arms, I also recognize that with that right comes the need for responsibility. That need for responsibility led me to cast my vote against these bills.

There are some who have said these votes were “anti-gun” votes, trying to paint me and those who support my efforts as anti- Second Amendment. That could not be farther from the truth. In addition to owning sixteen different firearms, a few weeks ago I became one of the over 190,000 to earn a concealed weapons permit.

The aim of these bills was not to protect or defend the Second Amendment of this country, but rather an attempt by an extreme few to pervert our right to bear arms into a law that only recognizes a select few. Allowing people to carry concealed weapons in bars and restaurants does nothing to improve safety, but rather opens the door to much larger problems. Restricting and criminalizing access to the over 190,000 concealed weapons permit holders records does nothing for the protection of Tennessee’s 6.5 million residents. And so I voted these bills down.

The Jackson Sun Editorial Board praised my actions, not once but twice, saying “there's no doubt that Naifeh made the right decision in helping defeat these bills, not just because his constituents were opposed to them, but because killing the legislation will help keep Tennesseans safe.”

Most gun owners that I have talked to understand why this legislation was not acceptable, and recognize that here in Tennessee we have it pretty good. They, along with most Tennesseans, realize that the balance between those that own firearms and those who do not must be respected. But you cannot please everyone all the time, and so there are a couple of radicals out there claiming an anti-gun agenda ruled the day.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again and will continue to say it. As long as I am Speaker, we will never have to worry about our Second Amendment right being infringed upon.

http://wdef.com/news/tennessee_house_sp ... on/04/2008



Now, let's take a few looks at what Speaker Naifeh says.

1) Jimmy Naifeh (or someone who writes for him) quotes Einstein on tyranny. That is ironic. Note that the quote was a reference that the balance being addressed was the will of the people restraining government from declining into tyranny. While the quote is appropriate, it is not a quote supportive of Jimmy Naifeh's own tyrannical actions.

2) The "right" of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to vote in committee is not a constitutional right in Tennessee, its instead a privilege created under the House Rules. Just because it exists does not make it a "right" nor does it elevate the role of Speaker to some sort of superior moral gatekeeper for all legislation passing through the House. Here, it is simply a tool used by Speaker Naifeh to give his single vote far more importance than was ever intended in a representative form of government.

3) While the Speaker may in fact be a gun owner, so are many criminals. Hitler was a gun owner. Stalin was a gun owner. John Dillinger was a gun owner. So was Alvin York. The fact that Jimmy Naifeh is a gun owner alone provides no material evidence that he supports or protects or for that matter even comprehends the Second Amendment.

It is also noteworthy that he, as a state legislator, makes no reference whatsoever to the Tennessee Constitutional guarantee in Article 1, Section 26, which protects the rights of Tennesseans at a higher level than the Second Amendment. But then again, constitutionally protected rights may mean nothing to a Speaker with a special voting power and a perception that his special powers exist to balance what is right and to exterminate unwise and unbalanced legislation that almost all other elected legislators actually support.

4) Jimmy Naifeh then says "In addition to owning sixteen different firearms, a few weeks ago I became one of the over 190,000 to earn a concealed weapons permit."

First, let us note that Jimmy Naifeh does not even really understand the law that was passed almost 15 years ago which establishes a permitting system in Tennessee. Despite what he thinks, Tennessee is not and never has issued "concealed weapons permit[s]". There is no concealment requirement. There is no "weapons" permit. It is a civilian handgun permit under which open carry is allowed.

Second, note that Jimmy Naifeh tries to align himself with the citizens who elect to obtain civilian handgun permits by asserting that he "earn"ed his permit. Again, the civilian handgun permit in Tennessee is a right. You do not "earn" it like a boy scout badge. Of course, if Jimmy Naifeh thinks it is something that the citizens have to "earn" then apparently its easier to infringe the earnings path with obstacles.

5) Also note that Jimmy Naifeh claims he "earned" his "concealed weapons permit" "a few weeks ago" referencing some point in time prior to April 11, 2008. Now, its almost ironic that one of the bills that Jimmy Naifeh found it necessary to suppress was one that would have made handgun permit records confidential. Since he felt that this law was unwise, TFA decided to submit a Freedom of Information Act Request to obtain Jimmy Naifeh's handgun permit application records. [Where is Phil Williams when there is investigating reporting that needs to be done?]

It turns out that when Jimmy Naifeh told the citizens of this state that he had "earned" his "concealed weapons permit" he was wrong or he just simply lied. Either way, it was not the truth. When he made that press release, Jimmy Naifeh had not even applied for the civilian handgun permit. Maybe that is because he did not understand Tennessee law that you have to apply to the Department of Safety after you take the handgun class (assuming you actually took the class.). Whatever the reason, what Jimmy Naifeh said was false.

According to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Jimmy Naifeh's chronology is this:

- March 29, 2008, Jimmy Naifeh took a handgun certification class at Brighton Arms with Smith and Wesson Model 8906 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Well, he at least got a certificate that said he did. Maybe we will have some people who did take the class help us with this fact.

- Jimmy Naifeh issued a press release on or about April 11, 2008, claiming he had earned his concealed weapons permit "a few weeks ago"

- April 21, 2008 almost 11 days after the TFA's Freedom of Information Act Request was submitted, Jimmy Naifeh applied for Tennessee civilian handgun permit with the Tennessee Department of Safety (perhaps someone at the Department of Safety alerted the Speaker's office to this oversight on his part?).

- April 22, 2008, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation completes background check on Jimmy Naifeh (WOW! They CAN do it in one day!!!)

- May 12, 2008, Tipton County Sheriff complete local background check

http://www.tfaonline.org/downloads/naifehtdos.pdf

What can the average citizen draw from this? Many things....

Jimmy Naifeh did not tell the truth when he said he "earned" his concealed weapons permit. He may have intentionally lied on this point but really would that surprise anyone? For all we know, someone else wrote the article for him and that person shows even more recklessness for the truth than we should be entitled to expect from a "super" legislator.

Jimmy Naifeh does not understand that there is no concealment requirement.

Jimmy Naifeh does not understand that it is a handgun and not a "weapons" permit.

Jimmy Naifeh was able to get a TBI background check in less than 24 hours whereas most Tennesseans are waiting literally months for renewal permits to be issued. Of course, Jimmy Naifeh has an armed Highway Patrol Officer to protect him while the Tennessee Department of Safety processes his civilian handgun permit application so there should have been no urgency.

Jimmy Naifeh just does not get it. The Second Amendment and the Tennessee Constitutional guarantees protect fundamental rights of citizens from government infringement and abuses from tyrants, well, like Jimmy Naifeh.

Jimmy Naifeh is likely not going to loose his campaign for re-election. Yet he can still be the issue in this election year. The issue with Jimmy Naifeh is not his re-election as a legislator but his re-election as the Speaker. Tennesseans across the state can impact the appointment of the next House Speaker by demanding that all candidates pledge in writing that they will not support Jimmy Naifeh as Speaker when the Legislature re-convenes in January. That should be relatively easy to do with Republicans and Independents. With Democrats it will be necessary to get their pledges - in writing - that they will not vote for Jimmy Naifeh - at any time - as Speaker. It really does not matter who they vote for as long as it is not Jimmy Naifeh.

Its time for Tennessee's constitutionalists and Second Amendment supporters (the real ones) to make an issue of Jimmy Naifeh.

http://www.tfaonline.org/memberforum/vi ... =4696#4696

[Waldo0506]

I wonder if the Tennesseean will post his name next to the rest of us when they publish the next list.

[johnharris]

Maybe we send him an honorary membership in TFA for one year?