New legislation affects local governments wanting to prohibit handgun permit holders from possessing handguns on property owned or controlled by local governments. Public Chapter 0467 is the result of House Bill 508 and Senate Bill 445. Note that it does not apply to property owned by the state. The new ...

In Tennessee, like most states, estates frequently include the decedent’s firearms. There are legal concerns for the executor1 concerning distributing the firearms to beneficiaries or heirs of an estate. These can involve a beneficiary who is disqualified from possessing a firearm, or too young to take possession. There may even ...

The federal National Firearms Act (NFA) regulates such items as machine guns, short-barrel rifles and shotguns and suppressors. New regulations, effective July 13, 2016 affect so-called gun trusts and possession of items by the executor of the estate of the owner. For several reasons, gun trusts have become extremely popular ...

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued an opinion applying the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms to stun guns. The case is Caetano v. Massachusetts. It involved a woman who was carrying a stun gun as protection against a former boyfriend. On one occasion, she had to display ...

It comes as a surprise to many that federal law strictly regulates transfers of firearms between residents of different states. This is not something new. It is part of the Gun Control Act of 1968, 18 U.S. Code §922. In particular, under 18 U.S. Code §922(a)(3), it is illegal for ...

Possession of weapons in parks is governed by Tenn. Code 39-17-1311. Generally, it is an offense for a person to carry certain weapons in or on the grounds of any public park owned by the state, counties, cities or towns. There are exceptions for law enforcement officers, security guards and ...

A person who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective” or who has been committed to a mental institution may not lawfully possess firearms or ammunition under federal and Tennessee law. 18 U.S. Code §922 and Tenn. Code. Ann. §39-17-(f)(1)(C). There is a procedure in the U.S. Code for relief ...

Perhaps the biggest, and least noticed, change in Tennessee firearms law is Tenn. Code §39-17-1307(e). This provision allows anyone who can legally possess a “firearm” (handgun, rifle or shotgun) to possess or carry a firearm and ammunition in a motor vehicle of which they lawfully possess. (An armed car thief ...

Duties of the personal representative or executor of an estate (I’ll use ‘executor’ for both) include gathering, protecting and distributing assets that belonged to the deceased. In this part of the country, firearms are frequently part of the estate. After the firearms are safely unloaded and securely stored, it’s time ...

In 2013, Tennessee enacted the so-called “guns in trunks law”, Tenn. Code §39-17-1313. This provided a defense to a criminal prosecution for a handgun carry permit holder, if parked on property where the owner prohibited firearm possession. However, the statute did not specifically prohibit an employer from firing an employee ...