NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee lawmakers are considering a proposal that could lead to an overhaul of the way the state's General Assembly considers gun restrictions. The proposal would modify the state constitution to say that citizens "have a right to keep, bear, and wear arms."
Currently, the state constitution guarantees people can have and bear guns "for their common defense." It also specifically says the Tennessee Legislature can specifically regulate guns in order to prevent crime.
The proposed constitutional amendment would change that language, removing the provision that guns are for the common defense as well as language about the General Assembly's ability to regulate guns. It would also include language allowing people to explicitly "wear" arms.
The new language that would be in the Tennessee Constitution is below.
"That the citizens of this State have a right to keep, bear, and wear arms."
It would replace the existing language in Article 1, Section 26, of the state's constitution. The existing language in the constitution is available below.
"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."
The proposed constitutional amendment was introduced by Sen. John Stevens (R - Huntingdon). The House version of the proposal, HJR 0038, was amended to match the Senate version. It will be discussed in the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on April 10. The House version was introduced by Rep. Jay Reedy (R - Erin).
The Senate version, SJR 0904, passed on the Senate floor on April 8.
According to the Tenessee Secretary of State's Office, amendments to the state constitution need to go through more than a vote by lawmakers. Amendments must also go through a popular vote and be listed on a ballot before the Constitution can change.
The amendment must get more "yes" votes than "no" votes, and the number of "yes" votes must be a majority of the total votes in the previous gubernatorial election.
"The Constitutional amendment fails if the number of yes votes does not meet or exceed the threshold or if there are more no votes than yes votes," the Secretary of State's Office said.
Tennessee's gun laws are ranked among some of the least restrictive in the U.S. and has a gun violence death rate of 20.9 per 100,000 people, compared to a national average of 14.4 gun violence deaths per 100,000 people, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.
It also said the state does not require background checks or prohibitions on assault-style weapons. It also does not regulate high-capacity magazines, or have a means for authorities to identify and remove illegal guns.