TN lawmakers on Antioch theater attack: Fewer gun restrictions needed

In the months preceding two highly public shootings in Tennessee, state lawmakers pushed to ease restrictions on when and where people may carry or purchase guns.

They need to continue that push so Tennesseans are able to protect themselves, argued state Rep. Tilman Goins, R-Morristown, on Wednesday afternoon.

"I honestly think evil is in a person's heart. I don't think gun legislation is necessarily going to alter or help or hurt," said Goins, who has sponsored several gun-related measures in the past.

"I do think people being allowed to defend themselves without restrictive gun legislation does help keep the body count down in some situations."

A gunman died Wednesday after bringing weapons into an Antioch movie theater. The man is believed to have attacked three people with pepper spray, including one person also injured by a hatchet, according to Metro police. Law enforcement shot and killed the man, who has not yet been identified.

Earlier this summer a gunman in Chattanooga shot five members of the military before he was shot and killed by local law enforcement.

Goins argued the man in Wednesday's incident had the intent to harm people, and that would not have changed if there had been more gun restrictions in place at the theater or in the state.

"That theater probably had a no-hatchet policy as well," Goins said. "The best thing lawmakers can do is free people up to defend themselves in the state."

That should include passing a law that would allow people to carry guns without obtaining a permit, argued state Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough. Van Huss, who served eight years in the U.S. Marines, has sponsored legislation to enact what's known as "constitutional carry"; the measure would remove the permitting requirement, and all of the weapons training that comes with that permit.

Dr. Corey Slovis, chairman of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, counters, "Unfortunately, the more people that have guns in public places the more potential there is for someone who shouldn't have a gun to use it inappropriately."

Slovis, who is the medical director for the Metro Nashville Fire Department and Nashville International Airport, was called to the scene and pronounced the Antioch suspect dead.

"In general, people who are trained to use guns, who know gun safety, who inspect their weapons and are conscientious are less likely to use it inappropriately, there are always exceptions," Slovis said.

Van Huss acknowledged a "constitutional carry" law would increase the number of people carrying weapons who have no training. He also acknowledged it might lead to more innocent bystanders being shot.

"Our Constitution does not say that people have to have training to exercise their Second Amendment right," Van Huss said.

"Yes, there is more potential," Van Huss continued. "But again, our Constitution guarantees the right to carry a weapon without training."

House Majority Whip Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, agrees that the answer is more people armed, not more laws restricting gun ownership.

"It's true that not every single person who carries a gun has the degree of skill that we'd like them to have. But at the same time, I believe that the good guys outnumber the bad guys, and it is much better if you have law-abiding people who can protect themselves," Durham said.

Van Huss' measure was one of several that did not pass this legislative session. Others unsuccessful measures would have:

Eased or altogether eliminated background checks on gun sales;

Allowed weapons to be stored in cars parked at schools;

​Made a large sniper rifle the official rifle of Tennessee.

Goins was one of the chief advocates this year for a measure that did pass, known as the guns-in-parks bill. The measure prohibits local cities and counties from banning people with valid gun permits from taking their weapons to public parks; people are still prohibited from taking weapons in the vicinity of school events.

An opinion from the Tennessee Attorney General recently muddied the waters on the practical impact of the law; several attorneys believe the law could prevent Metro Nashville from banning people with permits from taking their guns to venues such as Ascend Amphitheater, Nissan Stadium and Bridgestone Arena.

Lawmakers also passed measures to reduce fees on handgun permits for honorably discharged military veterans, and created a "lifetime" handgun permit; regular permits need to be renewed every five years. The lifetime permit still requires regular background checks.

More removal of restrictions is needed though, Goins and Van Huss argued.

"There is a reality that evil exists in our world. And if folks are not able to protect themselves, tragedies are going to happen," Van Huss said.

Gov Bill Haslam has said he thinks lawmakers need to potentially revisit the guns-in-parks law, in light of questions about whether people with permits may take their weapons to large concerts or similar venues.

"Obviously we just got over the Chattanooga experiences, which was really, really difficult for everybody involved. Every time we say 'God, it can happen anywhere' but it happened here. And then the other thing you say is 'Well, what can we do to stop it?'" Haslam told reporters Wednesday.

Asked about the role the gun laws and legislative debate had on Wednesday's incident, Haslam argued it can be hard to prevent some actions when people are committed to doing harm.

"If there’s somebody bent on doing destruction, and they don’t care what happens to themselves, there’s a lot of different ways they can do that destruction," Haslam said.

Lawmakers have called on the governor to ease testing requirements to obtain a handgun permit for active or retired military members. Goins, who served in the Marines and Army for eight years, said it makes sense to allow trained military personnel to have easier access to carry a weapon.

"Why would we not want to increase the ratio of people who have training in these types of situations to be out there in the public protecting us?" Goins said.

Lawmakers are set to reconvene the General Assembly in January.

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1. Holly Fletcher contributed to this report. Reach her at 615-259-8287 and on Twitter @hollyfletcher.