Tennessee Firearms Assoc. Inc.

The Morristown Parks and Recreation Department is scheduled to address the park carry bill and vote on a recommendation at their August 13 2009 meeting, 5:30 PM at the address below. Their recommendation will then be passed to the city council which will make the final decision.

If you can't make the meeting please contact both the Morristown Parks and Recreation Department as well as the individual members of the Morristown city council and tell them we don't need more safe zones for criminals.

To contact any city department: http://www.mymorristown.com/contact.php

Parks and Recreation Department
Morristown Parks and Recreation
415 West Louise Avenue
Morristown, Tennessee 37813
Phone # (423) 586-0260--Fax # (423) 318-1544

Director Craig Price

Seven of the 11 committee members made a quorum and the meeting started at 5:43 PM.
Representing local gun owners were Mike Freeman, Karen Nunan and myself.

The committee allowed us to speak on the park carry issue. They were very receptive towards our comments and asked several questions.

Commissioner Ed Sempkowski seemed perturbed that the city council had put this issue in the Parks & Recreation Committee and proposed a motion that stated the importance of the Second Amendment and moved that the issue be returned to the city council for a decision by "elected officials". This motion was approved 6-1. We may have had a small influence but it looked like Sempkowski had that motion prepared prior to the meeting. He was angry that the city council tried to push the issue to this committee of "unelected" members to make a recommendation. The motion was definitely pro-Second Amendment in tone.

Dr. William Rooney, a city council member and member of the P & R committee, opined several times that the city council would not even address the park carry bill thus allowing carry in Morristown parks effective 1 September 2009. Dr. Rooney noted that city council agenda items had to be submitted by 12 PM (noon) today to be considered in next Tuesday's council meeting (4 PM, 18 August 2009). Since the city council meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month the park carry issue could not be addressed by the council until after the law's effective date unless this issue had been submitted by noon today.. Of course it should be remembered that a community may opted out at any time, i.e., they are not restricted to action prior to the effective date of 1 Sept., 2009.

Tim I looked over their website several times and could not find a way to contact the council members . Considering I am from Centerville I am not familiar with any of them. But have been trying to email council members and call them if I could find the contact info. Do you by chance have any contact info for Morristown? I may not yet be a paid TFA member but I can be active in saving our 2A rights.