Ben West, Jr.: Tennessee Handgun Permits a Success

State Representative Ben West, Jr. who represents portions of East Nashville's Donelson, Hermitage, and Antioch areas writes in a guest editorial in The Tennessean that - despite one individual's stupidity - Tennessee needs to relax restrictions on handgun permit holders.

The debate arises, in part, because the individual, while exercising a right under Tennessee law, decided to openly carry a handgun that had an uncommon physical appearance. The initial law enforcement officers who responded were unaware that this firearm was commercially manufactured as a handgun and that it is recognized by the federal government as a handgun.

That is exactly true. Firearms that are "scary looking" often provoke fear laden hissy fits from hoplophobes. However, in this instance it must be recognized that the individual went far out of his way to provoke a response. He obtained this particular weapon and modified it's appearance to get a nasty response from law enforcement and then strutted around in an area sure to get that response.

As a policy maker, I know that bad facts do not compel changing a good law. Although some people may use poor judgment in a particular context, that does not require that we change the law that could impact hundreds of thousands of families in Tennessee. Tennessee's handgun permit law has been an overwhelming success since 1994, and the legislature has recognized repeatedly that it must remove infringements and restrictions, as we did in 2009, rather than to increase them.

Again, right on point. How about removing the restaurant restriction for good this time?

Tennessee does not need to follow the failed path of the federal government under the 1994 assault weapons ban of categorizing firearms based on appearances. That failure taught us clearly that we should not place restrictions on citizens based on the mere aesthetic appearance of a particular firearm. The appearance of a firearm is not relevant to its safety, usefulness, sporting function, effectiveness or even its Constitutional significance.

The handgun in question is a semi-automatic, similar in function to the semi-automatic pistols carried by most law enforcement. Do we really need to profile inanimate objects as a basis for public policy?

Bravo! That 1994 juxtaposition is poignant. I wish Nashville's West side had a representative with this viewpoint. Restrictions on law abiding citizens owning firearms, scary or not, harm our society. Allowing law abiding citizens to exercise their natural rights to self defense and the defense of their loved ones and nation enables our society to flourish.