Reply from Covernor bredesen.
Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:10 pmI, and 26 other Jackson area received this response for Governor Bredesen today.
June 3, 2009
Dear Richard:
Thank you for contacting me about gun-related bills which have been considered by the General Assembly this year.
Let me be very clear: I am a strong supporter of the right to keep and bear arms. I am, and have always been, committed to preserving the rights of the Second Amendment. They are basic American rights, protected by the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution as well. Even so, these rights, for more than two centuries, have come with reasonable and necessary rules and guidelines. For this reason, I carefully consider each bill that reaches my desk and evaluate it on its own merits.
As you know, I decided to veto House Bill 962, which would permit the possession of firearms in Tennessee restaurants and bars. In my view, this particular bill crossed the line of reason.
I have been a gun owner for more than 50 years. When I was a young man, I took my first gun safety class-sponsored by the NRA-at my high school. There was one message conveyed during that class that has been imprinted on me since, and it was this: guns and alcohol don't mix. That is as true today as it was then.
It is because of this principle that Tennessee state law has long prohibited the possession of firearms in places that serve alcohol. House Bill 962 would remove this safeguard in a manner that I, as well as many law enforcement officers, believe would be reckless and lacking safeguards to ensure public safety. A key role of government is to ensure public safety. To do that, government must strike a balance between the rights afforded to us by the Constitution and common-sense rules that must be applied to the exercise of these rights.
I believe we can exercise our second amendment rights and common sense at the same time - and guns and bars simply don't mix. Because of this, I vetoed this bill and respectfully asked the legislature to rethink this issue.
As other bills reach my desk-including legislation related to guns in parks, loaded firearms in automobiles, and others-I intend to review them carefully with both the Constitutional rights of gun owners and the safety of the general public in mind. Please be assured that your views are, and will remain, important to me on these issues and others related to state government.
Warmest regards,
Phil Bredesen
PB:jb
June 3, 2009
Dear Richard:
Thank you for contacting me about gun-related bills which have been considered by the General Assembly this year.
Let me be very clear: I am a strong supporter of the right to keep and bear arms. I am, and have always been, committed to preserving the rights of the Second Amendment. They are basic American rights, protected by the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution as well. Even so, these rights, for more than two centuries, have come with reasonable and necessary rules and guidelines. For this reason, I carefully consider each bill that reaches my desk and evaluate it on its own merits.
As you know, I decided to veto House Bill 962, which would permit the possession of firearms in Tennessee restaurants and bars. In my view, this particular bill crossed the line of reason.
I have been a gun owner for more than 50 years. When I was a young man, I took my first gun safety class-sponsored by the NRA-at my high school. There was one message conveyed during that class that has been imprinted on me since, and it was this: guns and alcohol don't mix. That is as true today as it was then.
It is because of this principle that Tennessee state law has long prohibited the possession of firearms in places that serve alcohol. House Bill 962 would remove this safeguard in a manner that I, as well as many law enforcement officers, believe would be reckless and lacking safeguards to ensure public safety. A key role of government is to ensure public safety. To do that, government must strike a balance between the rights afforded to us by the Constitution and common-sense rules that must be applied to the exercise of these rights.
I believe we can exercise our second amendment rights and common sense at the same time - and guns and bars simply don't mix. Because of this, I vetoed this bill and respectfully asked the legislature to rethink this issue.
As other bills reach my desk-including legislation related to guns in parks, loaded firearms in automobiles, and others-I intend to review them carefully with both the Constitutional rights of gun owners and the safety of the general public in mind. Please be assured that your views are, and will remain, important to me on these issues and others related to state government.
Warmest regards,
Phil Bredesen
PB:jb