Haslam: Excluding campuses key to gun deal

[Tim Nunan]

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/dec/0 ... _headlines

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says the exclusion of college campuses is key to an agreement on a bill to allow employees to store their firearms in vehicles parked at work.

The governor told reporters after a speech to a Nashville Republican group on Tuesday that he expects lawmakers to craft a compromise on the measure that was the subject of much discord earlier this year.

The business lobby opposed the measure backed by the National Rifle Association on the basis that it intrudes on their property rights. Gun advocates argue that banning guns in company lots effectively prevents workers from being armed during their commute.

Haslam said his administration won't take a lead on the issue but said it will fight to keep educational institutions out of the final version.

"We will definitely not offer a bill on this," Haslam said. "It's not one of the issues of primary importance to us in this session."

Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, has announced he will push for an early compromise on the measure in hopes of pushing the contentious issue out of the limelight. Unlike the early drafts of last session's bill, the new version would apply only to people with state-issued handgun carry permit.

The Kingsport Times News reported that Ramsey said at a luncheon at Northeast State Community College in Blountville earlier this week that opponents conjure up nightmare scenarios that he doesn't believe would come to pass if the measure becomes law.

"If we passed this bill tomorrow, you wouldn't know the difference the next day," Ramsey said. "We may exempt our schools, that's fine, but even then we're talking about public parking lots. ...There's got to be a way to keep it in a car legally."

Higher education officials and campus police chiefs have spoken out against allowing guns on campus.

"Why do you want to have a gun?" Wilsie Bishop, vice president and chief operating officer of East Tennessee State University, asked Ramsey at the luncheon.

"Self-protection," Ramsey responded. "There are nuts in this world, but I'm not one of them."

[1gewehr]

Once again, we are shown why it is so critical to keep our eyes on our elected folks. The minute that they think they can get away with something, they will.

[Ron W]

I wrote the following instructive letter to the Governor today:


Governor Haslam,

I was very disappointed that according to the Tennessean report, you are supporting the “politically-correct” mantra of maintaining “gun-free” zones for schools. Are you aware that every mass-criminal shooting of three or more persons in the U.S. since World War II except one has occurred in a gun-free zone? Gun-free zones make it easier for mass-murderers and only deprive citizens of their right to armed self-defense thus unlawfully imposing upon them a much less safe environment.

Your most important duty as an elected official is to support and uphold all of the enumerated rights in the Tennessee Constitution’s Declaration of Rights. Here is Article I, Section 26 which as Governor, you have sworn an oath to uphold:

That the citizens of this State have a right to keep and to bear arms for their common defense; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime. –Article I, Section 26

According to this, the State of Tennessee only has delegated power to regulate how citizens wear (open, concealed, holstered, etc) their weapons , not if, when or where we carry them according to our right.

So on the issue of citizens locking their weapons in their vehicles as employees, I expect you to do your duty and act according to the words of the State Constitution so that those of us who have undergone intrusive background checks to exercise our Constitutional right to armed self-defense may do so during our commutes to and from work.

Please support the Employee Safe Commute Bill for all citizens which is directly pursuant to Article I, Section 26 of our State Constitution.

Thank you,

[Fred762]

Headlines in the 'PRAVDA-ON-THE-CUMBERLAND'(Tennesean) "RINO Governor ignores logic..keeps school children as helpless victims!!!"

There IS a better way and cheaper too:


The Israelis, threatened on 3 sides by well-armed, muslim jihadi terrorists, did exactly this ~~35 years ago or so: all school staff are armed and trained to shoot, and armed PARENTS also patrol their schools. Israeli schools are NOT gun-free, (ie helpless victim) zones like Amerikan schools. So....who better to protect the kids than parents and teachers who can shoot and have the TOOLS to protect the kids?...

The implementation would be simple and cost-effective: owning and training with a handgun, and CCW permit would be a requirement for all school staff, and all parents at a school, unless a parent were adjudicated physically or mentally impaired. All able-bodied parents would be required to sign up for patrol duty...IMHO a helluvalot more important than selling cookies IMHO!!!
The patrols would be plain-clothes & roving, and the parents and teachers simply carrying concealed weapons...preferably all of the same caliber..say something common like .38spl or 9mm Luger.... to facilitate ammo sharing IF a shooting situation developed.

IF a parent refused to participate in the patrolling, they would be forced to remove their kid from school and then have to pay to send him/her to a pvt school as an alternative. They could possibly be forced to put this sign in the front yard of their homes: "I am anti-gun and refused to help protect the school children"

I'd say US school shootings would end asap..

Btw..when have you heard of a vodeo-gamer looney shooting up a GUN SHOW?

BTW..most of the anti-gunner politicians (like Bloomberg and Rahm Immanuel or Obummer, Fineswine, Suckie Chewmer, etc,etc) and TV talking heads send their kids to uppity private schools with armed security, and have ARMED guards protecting their own a$$es at all times. ie "Sidwell Friends School" in DC has ~~ 11 people(mostly armed cops) on their "Security Force" and also has Secret Service personnel there at all hours...................