A Tennessee lawmaker who was the lead sponsor of a law allowing permit holders to bring guns into bars has been arrested on charges of DUI and possession of a gun while under the influence, The Tennessean reports.

Rep. Curry Todd, a Republican state representative from Collierville, was stopped by police in Nashville on Tuesday, failed a roadside sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer, according to court documents.

The newspaper says a loaded Smith & Wesson .38 Special was found in a holster stuffed between the driver's seat and the center console.

"The subject was obviously very impaired and not in any condition to be carrying a loaded handgun," 'the arresting officer said in his report.

The newspaper says a lawyer representing Todd was not immediately available for comment.

The Tennessean quotes Adam Dread, a former Metro councilman who led the successful legal challenge against the original guns-in-bars law in 2009, as saying Todd, if convicted, managed to prove his opponents' point that "guns and alcohol don't mix."