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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti are appealing a recent court decision that abolished two laws imposing gun restrictions in Tennessee, with Skrmetti saying the ruling “goes too far.”
The decision, made by a three-judge panel in late August, invalidated two Tennessee laws. One made it illegal to carry a gun in a park or a similar area without a permit to carry a handgun. The other outlawed the more ambiguous offense of carrying a firearm “with the intent to go armed.”
The ruling was hailed by pro-gun groups like the ones who challenged the laws, but some people, like Memphis Sen. London Lamar, a Democrat, felt abolishing the laws puts people in danger and removing the “intent to go armed” law specifically leaves police officers waiting “until a crime has already been committed.”
Skrmetti argued in a statement the invalidated laws are constitutional in some situations.
Tennessee attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti, center, speaks on a panel with Brent Leatherwood, left, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, during the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Dallas.
More: Three-judge panel finds Tennessee’s guns in parks prohibition violates Second Amendment
“For example, it’s obviously constitutional to prohibit a ten-year-old from bringing a semiautomatic rifle to a rec league basketball game or a drunk with a shotgun from staggering down Broadway or through Market Square or across Shelby Farms. But the Court’s ruling appears to legalize this in Tennessee,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “We look forward to the appellate courts providing clarity for citizens and law enforcement.”
News of the appeal prompted sharp rebuke from some conservative lawmakers. Tennessee Rep. Monty Fritts, R-Kingston, called it “the most Constitutionally repugnant action committed in the past decade, or longer in Tennessee.” Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, directed fire at House Republican leadership’s “silence,” “while our freedoms are being shredded.”
Several Republicans had urged Lee and Skrmetti to let the lower court decision stand. In a Sept. 2 letter to Skrmetti, Fritts made a last minute plea, arguing that the law outlawing carrying a weapon “with the intent to go armed” runs counter to the principle of innocent until proven guilty by criminalizing a person’s intent rather than actions. Eleven other state lawmakers signed onto Fritts’ letter. Others, including Sen. Page Walley, R-Savannah, wrote their own.
Brandon Puttbrese, press secretary for Tennessee Senate Democrats, was also concerned the ruling removed a legal mechanism for police to investigate suspicious people carrying weapons, arguing the decision “ties their hands.”
Puttbrese said he hopes common sense prevails on appeal but that he does not have confidence in the courts.
The Tennessean left a voicemail seeking comment with John I. Harris III, the attorney for the plaintiffs in the case. The plaintiffs include three gun owners and “no-compromise gun lobby” Gun Owners of America and its associated nonprofit Gun Owners Foundation. The Tennessean also sent an email seeking comment to Lee’s press secretary Elizabeth Johnson.
Have questions about the justice system? Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him with questions, tips or story ideas at emealins@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee gov, AG appeal ruling that OKs guns in TN parks
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