The Tennessee Legislature failed once again on the obligation to remove infringements of the rights protected by the Second Amendment’s “shall not be infringed” mandate. Although the Republican majority has campaigned as being strong on Second Amendment issues (and some are) the leadership of the respective Republican caucuses proves once again that their political priorities lie other than in upholding the constitutions and protecting your rights from state and local infringements.
We tracked 74 bills in 2025. Of that number, we only supported 8 bills with one additional bill listed for support if it was completely amended. (See the Supported Bill Report). What happened to the “good” bills – the Republican controlled Legislature blocked or killed most of them.
Of the 74 bills that were tracked in 2025, 15 were enacted into law and 1 is a proposed constitutional amendment that will ultimately require consideration by the voters. Of the enacted bills, none truly embodies a material repeal of any existing infringements under State law on the rights protected by the Second Amendment. This failure by the Republican controlled Tennessee Legislature stands in stark contrast to the Republican legislators who serve in Legislative leadership and hold themselves out as Second Amendment supporters.
To be fair, there are a number of Legislators who are proven to be strong Second Amendment supporters and who do stand up for your rights. However, the bills that they propose are often blocked or stonewalled in the various legislative committees before they ever get to a floor vote.
This fact – a historical trend – demonstrates beyond dispute that Tennessee’s Governor Bill Lee and his Legislative co-conspirators in the Republican leadership of the House and Senate do not truly embrace or support the constitutional protections of the rights within the scope of the Second Amendment or the Tennessee Constitution. Those Legislators in leadership who have the capacity by their offices to lead the charge to repealing the infringements on your Second Amendment rights but who have a demonstrated history of doing otherwise include Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, Speaker Cameron Sexton, Senator Jack Johnson, Senator Todd Gardenhire, Rep. William Lambert, Rep. Andrew Farmer and others whose bills and votes demonstrate a clear abhorrence against your constitutionally protected rights.
SB441/HB478 (Sen. Bailey and Rep. Butler) would have addressed the consequences of carrying a firearm on posted property. Neither house moved forward with the bill in the respective Judiciary Committees.
SB474/HB387 (Sen. Bowling and Rep. Butler) would have prevented and limited healthcare workers from gathering data and creating health records containing data pertaining to firearms ownership, possession or access. Both houses deferred the legislation to 2026.
SB819/HB554 (Sen. Roberts and Rep. Capley) would have created a civil action against government officials for infringing a person’s rights as protected by the Second Amendment or the Tennessee Constitution. The House Civil Justice Subcommittee (chaired by Rep. Andrew Farmer) killed the bill.
SB824/HB985 (Sen. Hensley and Rep. Warner) would have removed the criminal offense component of carrying a weapon on posted property. The bill was taken off notice in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee.
SB914/HB883 (Sen. Bailey and Rep. Todd) this was a caption bill that was amended in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee to revise the intent to go armed law. Note: TFA did not help write this amendment and its content, offered by someone else, had numerous and serious problems which would have required a complete rewrite. TFA only supported this bill because the caption was broad enough that it could have been salvaged with an acceptable amendment. Had this bill proceed with the House Amendment in the Senate, TFA would have opposed it.
SB1227/HB1189 (Sen. Lowe and Rep. Grills) this bill would have converted the existing handgun permits to firearms firearms. The Senate Judiciary (Chaired by Sen. Todd Gardenhire) killed the bill.
SB1360/HB873 (Sen. Hensley and Rep. Fritts) amended Tennessee’s existing PLCAA (“Protection of Lawful Commerce of Arms Act”) to close a loophole. The bill therefore strengthened the protections of manufacturers and dealers in Tennessee from lawsuits which seek to claim that the manufacture and distribution of firearms should be the basis for liability claims. This legislation was enacted as Public Chapter 329.
SB1407/HB856 (Sen. Hensley and Rep. Capley) would have provided the ability for individuals to use deadly force (e.g., brandishing a weapon) to protect personal property and real estate in certain circumstances. The Senate Judiciary (Chaired by Sen. Todd Gardenhire) killed the bill.
HJR53 (Rep. Reedy) this resolution proposed a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2030 for voters to modify Article I, Section 26 of the Tennessee constitution by removing a provision that violates the protections of the Second Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment. Note that a similar effort was made in 2024 that would have put the matter on the ballot in 2026 and although that effort passed the Senate it failed in the House reportedly because of opposition from House Republican leadership. This resolution was blocked by the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee.
Of the 74 bills that we tracked in 2025, 15 were enacted into law and 1 proposed constitutional amendment was approved. The bills that became law are listed in the attached report along with the public chapter numbers.
SB130/HB175 (Sen. Page and Rep. Darby) allows the use of drones to locate and retrieve deer that have been wounded by hunters. This will require TWRC/TWRA to adopt implementing regulations.
SB206/HB646 (Sen. Massey and Rep. Carringer) this bill allows hunters to wear flourescent pink as opposed to hunter orange.
SB221/HB34 (Sen. Taylor and Rep. Gillespie) allows the use of juvenile court records for setting bonds for adult offenders. Requires judicial magistrates to consider juvenile court records of adult offenders when evaluating bond.
SB256/HB601 (Sen. Gardenhire and Rep. Freeman) provides a means for post-conviction relief in certain instances by asserting actual innocence based on new evidence.
SB407/HB445 (Sen. Gardenhire and Rep. Hulsey) revises procedures for restoration of rights.
SB863/HB799 (Sen. Stevens and Rep. Grills) requires TWRC to promulgate rules to issue guide licenses relative to Reelfoot lake.
SB869/HB938 (Sen. Hensley and Rep. Capley) creates an extra cost “bait privilege” license that may be used under certain circumstances by deer hunters.
SB1038/HB1060 (Sen. Bowling and Rep. Howell) increases fees that county clerks are allowed to collect on the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.
SB1075/HB1093 (Sen. Johnson and Rep. Sexton) a caption bill that was amended at the end of session and which redefines a machine gun for state law purposes (e.g., “Glock switches”). Increases penalty relative to machine guns from a Class E to a Class C felony. Expands the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction of a felony crime of violence, an attempt to commit a felony crime of violence, or a felony involving a deadly weapon, or a prior conviction for a felony drug offense, to include possession of ammunition. Expands the offense of unlawful possession of a handgun to include possession of ammunition. Prohibits probation for a person convicted of aggravated assault involving the discharge of a firearm from within a motor vehicle. Establishes that a person incarcerated for the offense of aggravated assault, if the offense involved the use of a firearm from within a motor vehicle, is ineligible to receive sentence reduction credits and must serve 100 percent of the imposed sentence.
SB1082/HB578 (Sen. Johnson and Rep. Doggett) adds specific criminal offenses to the list of dangerous felonies for purposes of the offense of possessing a firearm or antique firearm during commission or attempt to commit a dangerous felony.
SB1140/HB918 (Sen. Crowe and Rep. Grills) addresses issuance temporary group hunting event permits to a not-for-profit organization that sponsors and pays for a hunting experience at no cost to a veteran with any percentage of service-connected disability.
SB1296/HB1314 (Sen. Johnson and Rep. Lamberth) creates a Class E felony offense for knowingly, by any means of communication, threatening to commit an act of mass violence and the threat causes another to reasonably expect the commission of an act of mass violence. This classification is enhanced to a Class D felony if: (1) the violation involves a threat to commit mass violence on the property of a school, house of worship, or government, or at a live performance or event; (2) the defendant has one of more prior convictions for such offense or a Class A misdemeanor threat of mass violence on a school property; or (3) the defendant takes a substantial step towards the execution of the threatened act and engages in preparatory actions. Authorizes a sentencing court to order a person convicted of threatening to commit an act of mass violence to pay restitution, including costs and damages resulting from the disruption of the normal activity that would have otherwise occurred but for the threat to commit an act of mass violence. Creates a Class B misdemeanor offense for posting on a publicly accessible website a person’s telephone number or address with the intent to threat or cause harm. Enhances the penalty, from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor, if the offense results in harm to the individual or a member of the individual’s household.
SB1318/HB1332 (Sen. Johnson and Rep. Lamberth) one of the present eligibility requirements for issuance of an enhanced handgun carry permit is that the applicant for a permit has not been convicted of DUI two or more times within 10 years from the date of the application and that none of the convictions has occurred within five years from the date of application or renewal. This amendment clarifies that an applicant who has a DUI conviction that occurred within five years from the date of application or renewal is not eligible for a permit; and (2) this law also lowers the age requirement to 18 to apply for a handgun permit provided, that the applicant meets all other eligibility requirements for issuance of the permit.
SB1360/HB873 (Sen. Hensley and Rep. Fritts), discussed above, amended Tennessee’s existing PLCAA (“Protection of Lawful Commerce of Arms Act”) to close a loophole. The bill therefore strengthened the protections of manufacturers and dealers in Tennessee from lawsuits which seek to claim that the manufacture and distribution of firearms should be the basis for liability claims.
SB1384/HB683 (Sen. Watson and Rep. Lamberth) changes various provisions regarding licensed non-governmental security guards.
SJR25 (Sen. Johnson) a proposed constitutional amendment that removes the right to bail when the proof is evident or the presumption is great for the following offenses: act of terrorism, second degree murder, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated rape, grave torture, or any other offense for which a defendant could not be released prior to the expiration of at least 85% of the entire sentence.
Annual Event Save the Date – September 6, 2025
The TFALAC Annual Event to raise funds for the political action committee is Saturday, September 6, 2025. We are pleased to announce General Michael Flynn as the keynote speaker. We expect “early bird” ticket options to be available by June 1, 2025, and to end before July 4, 2025.
If you are interested in sponsorships, vendor or auction item donor options, you can contact John Harris ( johnharris @ tennesseefirearms.com ) now to discuss those options.
Political Training Save the Date – July 26, 2025
TFA has made arrangements with the Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership to bring in its instructors and training for an all day course on July 26, 2025. This is the FACL Political Leadership School.
This will be valuable training and insight on what makes a difference in the battle of politics. If you are considering running for office at any level, if you are considering assisting a candidate, or if you want to be a better advocate you should participate in this course – even if you have had it before.
Venue Name: Shackle Island Volunteer Fire Department
Address: 3199 Long Hollow Pike , Hendersonville TN 37075
Schedule
- Registration: 8:30 am to 9:00 am
- Class: 9:00 am to 5:30 pm
Coordinator: Tina Tobin , John Harris
Capacity: 30
Early Bird Registration: $45.00
Registration URL: https://facl-training.org/schools/events/hendersonville-tn-pls-26jul2025
John Harris | Executive Director | Tennessee Firearms Association
Joining and supporting TFA is an investment in the fight to restore our constitutional rights and to fight against politicians who are willing to sell their votes and your rights to whichever business interest gives them the most money!
