Fast Facts:
They seem like such an innocent part of life. Nobody worried about guns in bars. Nobody worried about walking from a restaurant to a car without being robbed. Those days have come and gone. And they won't come back.
Tennessee legislators approved a bill that would allow folks to carry concealed weapons in bars and restaurants. According to Memphis Restaurant Association President Mike Miller, the worry wasn't about safety in bars. "People have been worried about the walk to a bar or restaurant from their cars. And then they have to deal with walking from the establishment back to their cars." Miller is an advocate of the second amendment. But not this bill.
Here is where the trouble lies, he says. One word. Liability. "What happens if you post a sign saying no handguns, but somebody walks in and starts shooting. Does the sign mean I guaranteed a safe working environment. Or what happens if I don't post a sign and people start shooting. Does not having the sign mean I didn't care about a safe working environment?"
Miller says if he had to guess, probably 80 percent of the 400 members of the Memphis Restaurant Association will prohibit firearms from their establishments. They need to post signs, and Miller says, "there's been confusion" about the signage as well. The next few days ought to clear up some questions, he says.
And that brings us to enforcement. Don't go looking for police or deputies to come marching into bars or restaurants with metal detectors. "We have to rely on owners and patrons," says Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell. And they'll have to rely on them in more ways than one. Luttrell says" Since this is a misdemeanor, a law enforcement officer has to witness the infraction. A witness telling us what happened won't be enough. We will have to see it with our own eyes to make an arrest."
In the meantime, Shelby County Attorney Brian Kuhn has issued an 11 page opinion indicating that he thinks the law is unconstitutional.
- Guns now allowed in Tennessee bars and restaurants
- Signs must be posted if guns not allowed
- Shelby County Attorney thinks law unconstitutional
They seem like such an innocent part of life. Nobody worried about guns in bars. Nobody worried about walking from a restaurant to a car without being robbed. Those days have come and gone. And they won't come back.
Tennessee legislators approved a bill that would allow folks to carry concealed weapons in bars and restaurants. According to Memphis Restaurant Association President Mike Miller, the worry wasn't about safety in bars. "People have been worried about the walk to a bar or restaurant from their cars. And then they have to deal with walking from the establishment back to their cars." Miller is an advocate of the second amendment. But not this bill.
Here is where the trouble lies, he says. One word. Liability. "What happens if you post a sign saying no handguns, but somebody walks in and starts shooting. Does the sign mean I guaranteed a safe working environment. Or what happens if I don't post a sign and people start shooting. Does not having the sign mean I didn't care about a safe working environment?"
Miller says if he had to guess, probably 80 percent of the 400 members of the Memphis Restaurant Association will prohibit firearms from their establishments. They need to post signs, and Miller says, "there's been confusion" about the signage as well. The next few days ought to clear up some questions, he says.
And that brings us to enforcement. Don't go looking for police or deputies to come marching into bars or restaurants with metal detectors. "We have to rely on owners and patrons," says Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell. And they'll have to rely on them in more ways than one. Luttrell says" Since this is a misdemeanor, a law enforcement officer has to witness the infraction. A witness telling us what happened won't be enough. We will have to see it with our own eyes to make an arrest."
In the meantime, Shelby County Attorney Brian Kuhn has issued an 11 page opinion indicating that he thinks the law is unconstitutional.
