Bill Haslam won. and won big, despite the dustup over his announced support for Constitutional Carry. Whether that was a publicity stunt or not, he has opened the door. His landslide win over Democratic Challenger McWherter brings a lot of electoral credibility to Constitutional Carry in Tennessee. It needs to be pushed, and pushed big, because it would be a huge boost to the movement. Hell, it could be the point where we can say Constitutional Carry is a movement, and not just a peculiar feature of three overwhelmingly pro-gun states. Being in the heart of the South, and the first state east of the Mississippi to consider such a measure (Vermont has always been this way), it would be a tremendous win.
Haslam’s landslide is a mandate. Don’t squander it. I’m hoping NRA hears this clearest of all. This doesn’t mean we’ll win, or that it can be done, but I think it should be tried. Make Haslam live up to his word. He opened this door, and I don’t see any reason not to try to walk through it.
Lets say that a bill like the AZ one is introduced. He said he will sign it, or will he flip-flop?
I would think if he keeps his promise it is going to be one hell of a fight getting it to the desk to sign. Even in AZ they tried hard to kill it. And this is AZ.
Sebastian wrote, “Being in the heart of the South, and the first state west of the Mississippi to consider such a measure (Vermont has always been this way), it would be a tremendous win.”
Tennessee is not west of the Mississippi.
Fixed.
re: east/west of Mississippi.
I figured from context–the comparison to VT–that Seb meant “east” of the Mississippi, even though he said ‘west’. (To my shame, I couldn’t remember off-hand whether TN is east or west of the big river…)
On a broader front, congrats to both TN and PA for their gun-friendly votes!
For better or for worse, there hasn’t been much action on the gun-rights front in Michigan.
Agreed, and I concur that our race signals ramifications outside the state. Also of note, we voted for a constitutional amendment to making hunting and fishing a right–passing overwhelmingly. About 10 times more people voted for than against.
Not that many people hunt and I interpret this as support for the right to keep and bear arms, as well as support for principles of general liberty. Thanks for watching the state.
In other races in traditionally Democrat counties, long-term Democrat office-holders went down in flames.
The message is: It is not safe to claim to be a conservative Democrat, even if you are seen duck hunting.
Please succeed in getting Constitutional Carry passed in Tennessee. Then maybe Texas can get it, too.
In Utah, we came close to getting Constitutional Carry last legislative session; it’s my understanding that it’s going to come up again in this session, this time early enough to vote on it.
It would indeed be an exciting thing if Tennessee also got Constitutional Carry!
Heck, I’d settle for PA – style carry for the interim. Unlicensed open carry with permits for concealed. In fact, this might be the interim that gets us to Constitutional carry in the next few years.
Regards,
Pol