Gentlemen,

I need your help.  

Does the city (town, etc.) you live in or are nearest to have a local ordinance prohibiting
the carrying of handguns in parks, (walkways, greenways, etc., whatever) by handgun
carry permit holders?  I believe this is the opt-out provision of state law.

If they do – would you please email me with information about this ordinance.  The code
number, the date passed, a copy if you have it.  The more details provided the better.

The bottom line is I need to know about all of the local options against carrying in parks.  
To keep this thread from being bombed email me through this site with the information.

I think public display is better, for all to see, otherwise why have a forum?

At any rate, Knoxville City Parks (actually all recreational properties) are no carry, but not because of opt-out from state law. It simply held on to existing grandfathered ordinance as allowed in TCA. 39-17-1314.

And they don't have to post them, and most aren't, you just have to "know", ya know? Ignorance of the law no excuse and all that.

Max penalty is $50 fine and/or 30 days jail, and is a misdemeanor.

However, Knox County Parks had no such ordinance and did not opt out of the new state statute, so carry is okay.

One complication is that there are greenways that go back and forth between city and county lines, and of course, no signage.

Pertinent Knoxville Codes are:
--------------------
Chapter 20 - Parks and Recreation.
Sec. 20-52. - Definitions.
Park means a park, reservation, playground, beach, recreation center or any other area in the city owned, leased or used by the city and devoted to active or passive recreation.

Sec. 20-60. - Recreational activities.

No person in a public park shall:
(7)Hunt, trap or pursue wildlife at any time. No person shall use, carry or possess firearms of any description, air rifles, spring guns, bows and arrows, slings or any other form of weapon potentially inimical to wildlife and dangerous to human safety, any instrument that can be loaded with and fire blank cartridges, or any kind of trapping device. Shooting into park areas from beyond park boundaries is forbidden.

Sec. 20-53. - Penalty for violation of article.

Any person who is found to have violated this article may be punished as provided in section 1-9.

Sec. 1-9. - General penalty; continuing violations.

Whenever in this Code or in any ordinance of the city an act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful, or an offense or a misdemeanor, or whenever in such Code or ordinance the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, where no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any such provision of this Code or any such ordinance shall be punished as follows: Any person violating any of the provisions of this general penalty article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and conviction thereof shall result in the penalties of a monetary fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) and the repayment of administrative costs incident to the correction of the municipal violation in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) and/or by imprisonment not to exceed thirty (30) days, or both, for each separate offense. Each day any violation of this Code or of any ordinance shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.
----------------------

Looks like 1962 date, near as I can tell:

http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=11098&stateId=42&stateName=Tennessee&customBanner=11098.jpg&imageclass=L&cl=11098.txt

- OS

Thank you for your reply.  This is the type information needed.

If there is other similar information out there now is the time to post.

Didn't exactly get overrun with responses I see.

Here's a previous thread if you never saw it with some info:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_38/538360_TN_Gun_Laws_in_City_Parks__Knoxville__et_al_.html

- OS

"They" sure don't make it easy to find this info. I have never tried to look it up till this morning and have not been able to find the details yet.

Do you already have the info for Chattanooga and Hamilton county?

They both have ordinances banning carry in park and greenways but I have not yet been able to find the details. I will keep looking and post what I find.

Here is a quote from the Chattanooga code:

"
PARKS AND PLAYGROUNDS
Chapter 26
–
Page
7
(Code 1986, § 26
-
16)
Sec. 26
-
17.
Other acts prohibited.
It shall be unlawful in any park or playground for any person to:
(1)
Carry firearms;..."

Here is a link to an article in the Times Free Press from July, 2009.

Edited to add link to the City of Chattanooga Resolution

I walk in Percy and Edwin Warner parks sometimes, and I'm not sure if they've prohibited guns there. Given the people who frequent the park, I'd say that they probably would of they could, but there is nothing posted except for "Obey all State and Local Ordnances" type signs.

I'm a big believer in the 'English Bob' school of carrying. " If the gun is not seen, but more importantly, not heard... Where is the harm?"

The Warner parks are part of the Metro Nashville parks system.  

The Metro council looked for any excuse they could to ban carry in all metro parks, when the state gave them that option.  While making a pretense of actually considering the issue, they had the park police present them with crime stats for the previous year. When the number was given for the number of criminals that were found to be illegally carry concealed handguns (when they were arrested on other charges) in metro parks, a council member latched onto that one piece of information and declared that if there were so many criminals carrying guns in parks when guns were banned in the parks, the number of criminals carrying guns in parks could only get much worse, if guns were no longer banned.

I haven't bothered to look up the specific law on carry in metro Nashville parks, but I do remember the news report on that ridiculous show they put on of 'considering the issue', before announcing the decision they had probably made the instant they learned that the state had given them a choice.

And yet, where (outside the ghettos) do all the crimes occur?  Our parks and greenways.  Amazing, that.

Then the law they operate under has to be the state statute, 39-17-1311. They are forbidden to enact any post 1986 ones involving most any area of firearm control.

- OS

Nashville's Metro Council chose to opt out of the parks carry bill, despite presentations of real FACTS by a team from TFA.

A good friend who was a council member at the time also told me that, given any choice at all, the Metro council will never
allow carry in Metro parks.  He was leading the charge at the time, & got taken aside & shown the leases & other agreements
creating the greenways...may of which include specific language banning carry.  The city doesn't actually own all the land
in it's greenway system, & is bound by those leases & agreements.

It can be addressed (read:  fixed!) at the state level.  We're still working on that.

David

All I know is that around here the city parks in Jackson are good to go as far as carrying goes and a no go in the small town of Medina just to the north.  The worst law ever passed by our legislators concerning carrying since you almost never know where you can and cannot carry.

And signs don't help with figuring out whether or not you can carry in any particular local park.  

State parks can be posted "No Firearms", but the state law allows permit holders to ignore those signs at state parks.  

Local parks may not have a sign, but the local government may have 'opted out' of allowing park carry, and just not bothered with the expense of posting new signs prohibiting carry.

Germantown, Memphis, and Shelby County all "opted-out" and therefore prohibit carry in parks & on greenways. They did not need to pass a law, they just voted on how they "felt" about the state law. Complete bullshit.



http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/mar/10/gtown-seeks-to-limit-guns-in-parks/





Nothing bad ever happens at these parks.......



http://www.wmctv.com/story/16570613/jogger-find

http://www2.localmemphis.com/news/local/story/Suspect-Arrested-for-Shelby-Farms-Robberies/jvYtYM8Gc0izuen3kynClA.cspx

http://www.wmctv.com/story/18627964/car-break-ins-most-reported-crime-at-shelby-farms

http://www2.localmemphis.com/news/local/story/Rash-of-Car-Break-ins-at-Shelby-Farms/-qs0mXfpsE645qNkopnp8A.cspx

Thanks to every one for their replies.

Yeah it gets pretty vague.  One park here changed the website first but didn't bother putting signs up for a while.  And when they did put signs up they were tiny and on the right side of the lane, so that drivers can't really read it very well anyway.

Clarksville prohibits CCW in certain place list..    Enclosed is the link~~  http://208.88.169.198/calendars/attachments/Public%20Safety%20Agenda%206-15-11.pdf


Damn thing doesn't allow CCW in any dog park in Clarksville...   Those ankle biters !!!!

Any time someone is mugged or assaulted in a park, they should sue each and every city councilman who voted to ban guns there.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Well, the General Assembly has began their 2014 session.

I direct your attention to House Bill 1407 by Representative Tilman Goins
and Senate Bill 1496 by Senator Stacey Campfield.

If successful this legislation will terminate a city's ability to ban guns in parks.

Thanks for the info! I'll be contacting my reps to voice my support. Anything else we can do at this point?

 

We had first reading today and expect second reading tomorrow.

Rep. Goins is going to put this on notice so we need to wait until there is a committee
assignment.  At that time we will need to contact the committee members.

The same will hold true for the Senate side of the legislation.

 Here's hoping!!!

Senate Bill 1496 has been placed on the Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for Tuesday, January 21st at 2:30 pm.

Senate Bill 1496 was rolled (delayed) one week at Senator Campfield's request
due to a fiscal note that was attached to the bill.

This bill is now scheduled to be heard by the Senate Judiciary committee on
Tuesday, January 28th at 3:30 pm.

Thanks for all the updates. How are you keeping up with this so well? Are you tracking it all online, or are you actually there at the state capital?

 

How am I keeping up with this so well?  
Well, in my case, it is through actually visiting the capitol every day since session started.  I started in July 2013 to promote some of this legislation and have had hundreds of meetings with various legislators to pave the way for these bills.  It is so bad that one Senator asked me where my room was in the building since, according to him, he sees me more than the does his wife.  (I told him same with me for him - he got this puzzled look)  I have retired and I now have the time to do this.

Am I tracking it all online?
I am doing that too.  Tracking these bills on line is easy using their "My Bills" bill tracker.  They update the information almost in real time and it lets you know just what you may have missed during the actual hearing.  I have a word document prepared on how to set up an account for bill tracking.  It is too large to drop into here but if you want a copy - send me an email through here and I'll send it back to you.

Do I have any recommended actions you should (or could) take right now to help get this bill passed?
Yes.  This bill is getting some push back from the Tennessee Municipal League and others.  For this bill contact the members of the Senate's JUDICIARY committee and the House's CIVIL JUSTICE committee, preferably by phone - be polite and civil - and ask them to support the bill by bill number (and get the number correct).  Also, contact your individual Representative and Senator to ask them to support the bills respectively when they come to the floor before the body as a whole.  Right now - committee pressure is the more critical.

As for the Tennessee Firearms Association and the NRA - I belong to both and donate to both.  You should too if you are able.  They both do good work - just in somewhat different ways.  The NRA-ILA has made this "Guns in Parks" legislation one of their priority bills for the 2014 session.  They are using the legislators' response to this bill as one of their evaluation points for the NRA-ILA rating coming out as we get near election time.

Today a Memorandum of Support dated January 22, 2014 was distributed to members of the Senate Judiciary committee.  This letter read;

 The memorandum was signed by Trevor Santos, Tennessee State Liaison, NRA-ILA.

Members of the Senate JUDICIARY Committee:

Brian Kelsey, Chair
Doug Overbey, 1st Vice-Chair
Stacey Camfield, 2nd Vice-Chair

Mike Bell
Lowe Finney
Ophelia Ford
Todd Gardenhire
Mark Green
John Stevens

The format for email address is as follows:

sen.<first name>.<last name>@capitol.tn.gov

such that Senator Campfield's state email address would be:  [email protected]

In the case of Senator Campfield - you should email him just to say thanks for sponsoring the legislation in the first place.

Members of the House Civil Justice Committee:

Jon Lundburg, Chair
Rick Womick, Vice-Chair

Harry Brooks
Mike Carter
Jim Coley
John DeBerry
Vance Dennis
Andrew Farmer
Ryan Haynes
Sherry Jones
Mike Stewart

Members of the House Civil Justice Subcommittee:

Jim Coley, Chair

Mike Carter
Vance Dennis
Andrew Farmer
Sherry Jones
Jon Lundberg
Mike Stewart
Rick Womick

The format for email addresses is as follows:

rep.<first name>.<last name>@capitol.tn.gov

such that Representative Sherry Jones' state email address would be:   [email protected]

The NRA-ILA just released a Legislative Alert concerning the "Guns in Parks" bill, SB 1496.

As some of us see it right now this is how the committee votes stack up:

Kelsey - Unknown  Yes
Overbey - Un-committed - therefore - unknown  No
Campfield - For  Yes
Bell - For  Yes
Finney - Unknown   No
Ford - Unknown  Absent
Gardenhire - Undecided - likes guns in parks - does not like moving control away from local control - (probably For) but, in reality, unknown  Yes
Green - For  Yes
Stevens - For  Yes

ETA:  Actual voting record.

Thanks again! I really hope we can get this passed this year. The current situation with most cities opting out is ridiculous. I just finished typing up a nice letter urging support for this bill and I emailed it to everyone you listed. I might also see if I can find it in the budget to send a little more to the TFA and NRA-ILA this month. Not sure how much I'll be able to call the senators during the day but I'll try to make a few calls.

Senate Bill 1496 by Campfield, the "Guns in Parks" legislation,
is scheduled to be heard as agenda item #15 by the Senate Judiciary Committee
on Tuesday, January 28th at 3:30pm in room LP 12.

Be there or watch the proceedings on the live video feed.

Senate Bill 1496 passed the Senate Judiciary committee this afternoon
on a vote of 6 for and 2 opposed.  The bill is being referred to the calendar committee
for placement on the floor of the Senate.

Good news! I was calling and emailing them a lot about this one. Please keep us up to date on the next steps.

 

Got this from the TFA today
 
 

Yes, we have the opportunity with the Civil Justice Subcommittee
tomorrow afternoon to pass through the subcommittee the guns
in parks legislation.

This bill is well received and deserves our support.  The NRA and
TFA both support the "guns in parks" legislation, HB1407 by Goins,
(SB1496 by Campfield).

SB1496 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 6 ayes - 2 no's
vote and is now targeted for the Senate Calendar committee.

HB1407 in on the calendar as item 7 on the Civil Justice Subcommittee
for tomorrow at 3:00pm.

Is there enough support to override the Gov's veto?  Reports say he does not support this bill.

A governor's veto can be overridden by a simple majority. It's pretty much an "are you sure?".

Personally, I don't see the legislature overriding Haslam on this one.

Looks like it got killed in the Senate. Mine (Dickerson) voted against it...............    

What are you talking about? The Guns in Parks bill made it past the Senate committee last month. Today it was supposed to be voted on by the House committee, but they delayed it for a future date where they plan to hear several gun bills.

 

Yep, my apologies. I posted this in the wrong thread.  

Don't worry, you're gonna be old one day....................  

House Bill 1407 by Goins was scheduled to be heard in the Civil Justice Subcommittee today;
however, was pulled "Off Notice".  At this time all "gun legislation" that has not made it through
a Senate or House committee is being consolidated onto a 'firearms' calendar for each chamber,
respectively.  Senate bills will be referred to the Judiciary committee and House bills will be
referred to the Civil Justice Subcommittee.

Senate Bill 1496, which passed the Senate Judiciary committee on 1/28/14 with a 6 yea - 2 nay
vote has been referred to the Senate Calendar Committee.  I am unsure of its exact status at
this time.  It is now my present understanding this will be heard by the Senate the week of 2/10.

I have been told to expect to see these calendars in about 4 weeks after the budget hearings.

ETA:  2/06 - See comment in red.

Bob,

Senator Dickerson voted to table the amendment (proposed by Sen. Beavers)
to Sen. Green's bills 1700 and 1701.

He voted in favor of the two unamended bills themselves.

I would like to direct your attention to an article in this morning's Tennessean
titled: "House Speaker Beth Harwell says guns-in-parks bill will advance."

For those like me who don't have access to the paper, here's the article online

 




 

A lot of liberal tears in the comment.  I left them something to cry about.

I stopped bothering with the Tennessean website, after they went to using facebook for the comments.  It had already gotten to be a hassle to clean my computer after each visit to their site, due to amount of tracking cookies they used for their advertising.

But it's easy to imagine the comments they are getting, just from the stupidity that was posted when park carry was changed, a few years ago.

And we still don't have the gunfire incidents they were predicting, after a few years of carry in state parks, carry in national parks, and carry in local parks where the government isn't run by gun phobic morons.

Got this from the NRA today:








 
 
 
 

Got this from my senator, Becky Massey just now:

Yea, the vote was 26 ayes, 7 nays and 0 pnv.

Voting against the bill were:
Sen. Burks, D-15
Sen. Finney, D-27
Sen. Harper, D-19
Sen. Henry, D-21
Sen. Kyle, D-30
Sen. Overbey, R-2
Sen. Tate, D-33.

Democrats voting for the bill was:
Sen. Ford, D-29.

All of the republicans except for Overbey voted for the bill.