TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Sep 3, 2025

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti are appealing a recent court decision that abolished two laws imposing gun restrictions in Tennessee. Skrmetti said in a statement that the ruling will cause "unnecessary confusion and risk," according to the Associated Press. The lower court decision, made by a three-judge panel in late August, invalidated two Tennessee laws: one making it illegal to carry a gun in a park or a similar area without a permit to carry a handgun and one outlawing the offense of carrying a firearm "with the intent to go armed." According to The Tennessean, Skrmetti argued in a statement that the laws are constitutional in many situations. "For example, it’s obviously constitutional to prohibit a ten-year-old from bringing a semiautomatic rifle to a rec league basketball game or a drunk with a shotgun from staggering down Broadway or through Market Square or across Shelby Farms. But the Court’s ruling appears to legalize this in Tennessee. We look forward to the appellate courts providing clarity for citizens and law enforcement.”