We got a historic win for constitutional carry. And when I say where this happens, some people will be confused, so I’m going to explain it for you. Welcome back everybody. My name is Jared. This is Guns N Gadgets, the premier source for Second Amendment News that you might not hear anywhere else. Today we got a massive victory for gun rights to talk about in Tennessee. Yeah. Wait a minute, Jared. I thought you guys had constitutional carry. Not so much. Stay tuned. A three-judge panel has declared parts of Tennessee’s laws, mainly, the intent to go armed law and our parks ban as unconstitutional.

That’s right. Decades of unconstitutional restrictions are crumbling. And the question now is, do Tennesseans effectively have constitutional carry? Stick around, because this case will have natural implications. The lawsuit here is Hughes v. Lee. It was brought by Tennessee Firearms Association, some Tennessee firearms citizens who are members, and is also backed by Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation. They challenged two big statutes here in Tennessee. Number one was the going armed statute. It’s Tennessee Code, sections 39, 17, 1307A, and the law had been around since 1871. It was a Jim Crow law that looked to keep freed black people from having arms to withstand the Ku Klux Klan.

Yeah, you heard me right. Now, it made it a crime for someone to carry a firearm with the intent to go armed. If you can tell me how you can accomplish carrying a firearm without the intent to go armed, I’ll be stunned if you could, but it basically made the very act of carrying illegal. You were presumed a criminal unless you fell into a statutory defense or exception, and that’s what our permitless carry law was. It was a statutory defense that could be brought up at trial. How do you get to trial? You got to be locked up, arrested, and tried, charged.

That’s how you can make that defense. So we really didn’t have constitutional carry until now. Number two was our park statute, Tennessee Code, sections 39, 17, 1311A, and this law banned firearms in public parks, greenways, and recreational areas with a few exceptions. Now, a violation was also no bueno. You were going to go to jail if some cop somewhere in the state decided to utilize that law. It doesn’t mean that if you were carrying a park or if you were carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed that you would get locked up. It just meant that you could.

Now, the plaintiffs argued that these statutes violated Article 1, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution, as well as the United States Constitution, specifically the Second Amendment, as applied through Heller, McDonald, and especially Bruin. And before I go any further, I want to thank today’s sponsor, Blackout Coffee. Look, patriots, it’s not just about coffee. It’s about living free and supporting American values. Blackout Coffee is a family-owned, freedom-loving company right in Florida, and every bag is roasted right here in the United States of America. Whether it’s our Morning Reaper roast or our two-way roast, my personal favorite, or our specialty teas and hot chocolates, Blackout Coffee has something for every freedom-loving American.

And here’s the best part. When you support Blackout, you’re supporting a company that unapologetically stands for the Constitution, the Second Amendment, and the same values that we fight for here on this channel. Head over to blackoutcoffee.com slash gng and use code gng10 at checkout to save 10% off your order. That’s blackoutcoffee.com slash gng. Use gng10. Links in the description. Thank you for your support. Don’t just drink coffee. Wake up with freedom in your cup. After years of litigation, a three-judge panel agreed that the intent to go armed ban is unconstitutional. The court said that carrying a firearm for self-defense clearly falls within the scope of the Second Amendment, and criminalizing near-carry flipped the Constitution on its head.

Unless, that is, unless the state could prove that this restriction fit within America’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. And if they couldn’t, the law had to fail. And under Bruin, Tennessee simply could not justify it. The Parks ban is also unconstitutional. The court held that declaring vast swaths of public property off-limits to firearms, where families gather, where predators, human and animal alike, can be a real threat that violated the right to keep and bear arms. Again, the state failed to show that the ban was consistent with his nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation, and those are big wins under the Bruin decision.

Put simply, both statutes were struck down as facially unconstitutional. So here’s the big question. Does this mean that Tennessee is now a full constitutional carry state? Well, the answer is almost, but not exactly. Tennessee already had a form of permitless carry, but it was riddled with exceptions, and it didn’t apply in many locations. With these two statutes invalidated, the state can no longer criminalize someone simply for carrying with the intent to go armed, and it can’t ban law-abiding citizens from carrying in public parks. This dramatically expands where Tennesseans can carry firearms. It pushes the state closer to true constitutional carry, but there are still other restrictions on the books, like schools, courthouses, and certain government facilities, that still remain off-limits.

Now, the judges leaned heavily on Bruin here. That case, as you should know, said that if the Second Amendment’s text covers the conduct, keeping and bearing arms, then the government bears the burden of proving its restriction as rooted in history and tradition. Not just the preferred history of keeping freed black people from being able to defend themselves. Tennessee tried to argue that the old going armed to the terror of people law supported its statute. But those historical laws punished carrying in a way that spread fear or terror, thus it’s in the name. They didn’t criminalize the peaceful act of carrying itself.

On the parks issue, Tennessee pointed to examples of regulations in national parks and local ordinances from the 19th century. But those came long after the founding, and Bruin is very clear, the founding era, around 1791 when the Second Amendment was adopted, is the touchstone here. Post-Civil War regulations carry very little weight. Now, the court agreed with the plaintiffs that the state had no valid historical analogues. This ruling means that law-abiding Tennesseans no longer need to fear being arrested just for carrying a firearm in public with the intent to go armed. And public parks, greenways, and recreation areas, where families gather and sometimes criminals lurk, are no longer mandatory victim zones.

The decision sets up Tennessee as a stronger pro-Second Amendment state, aligning it closer with constitutional carry jurisdictions across the country. But it also raises the stakes. If the state appeals, and we don’t have that answer yet, we will soon, though. If the state appeals, this could go up to the Tennessee State Supreme Court or even federal courts if they try to involve the Second Amendment more directly. Now, because this was a summary judgment, either party can still ask the court to alter or amend the ruling under Tennessee’s rules of civil procedure, and they would have at least 30 days to make such request.

Clock’s already ticking. Assuming that the ruling is not altered or amended by the court, either party could appeal the ruling. Now, such appeals typically have to be initiated within 30 days. Again, that clock is ticking. Now, under either of those two options, it would be at least 30 days before the ruling is final, but it could easily be longer if Governor Bill Lee or Attorney General Jonathan Scrimetti, or any of the other defendants, for that matter, decide to ask the three-judge panel to revise its ruling or if they choose to appeal. Now, of course, doing either of those creates a very uncomfortable look for the governor and attorney general, because they would then be spending taxpayer funds seeking to preserve unconstitutional laws in direct violation of their oath to uphold and defend the constitution and to protect the rights of the citizens of Tennessee.

Now, like I said, we will know shortly that the clock is ticking, but it can now be construed that the Tennessee Attorney General and the Governor of Tennessee are both guilty of federal civil rights violations. I think they let this sleeping dog lie. I don’t think they appeal it. We’ll have to wait and see, though. What’s happening here in Tennessee is part of a nationwide trend. Courts post-brewin are striking down gun control laws that cannot survive historical scrutiny, and the winds just keep coming. Think about it. In just the past few years, we’ve seen federal courts knock out bans on magazines, suppressors, and carrier restrictions.

Now, Tennessee joins that wave. Affirming that the right to keep in their arms means what it says. It’s not a privilege doled out by the state. It’s a constitutional guarantee. This is where you come in. Victories like this don’t happen in a vacuum. They happen because gun owners like you and I fight back, because groups like Gun Owners of America, Tennessee Firearms Association, and others bring cases, and because ordinary citizens refuse to accept infringements. So here’s what you could do right now to help this reach final judgment, I guess. Number one, contact the Tennessee governor and the attorney general.

The numbers will be here on the screen and in the linked description and the pinned comment. And let them know that you support this ruling, and you expect for them to refrain from appealing it and actually start supporting the Second Amendment. Number two, join the fight. Join groups like Gun Owners of America and Tennessee Firearms Association. And other organizations that are leading the charge. Number three, spread the word. Share the video. Tell your neighbors and make sure people know that their rights have been restored in Tennessee. Now, this is a historic win for Tennessee and a reminder to every other state government, our rights are not negotiable.

The Second Amendment means exactly what it says. Tennessee’s unconstitutional statutes have been struck down and the momentum is on our side. Stay tuned because you know I’ll keep you updated every single step of the way here. Again, my name is Jared. This is Guns and Gadgets, your premier source for Second Amendment news, and you might not hear anywhere else. Until next time, stay safe, stay free, stay vigilant, check the channel often, and I love having you here. Hope you have a phenomenal day. Take care. Thank you. [tr:trw].

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