Buzz Trexler

THE TENNESSEE CONSTITUTION, Article 1, Section 19:
”That the printing press shall be free to every person to examine the proceedings of the legislature; or of any branch or officer of the government, and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opinions, is one of the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.”

Just got off of the phone with state Rep. Joe McCord, R-Maryville. He said his goal in filing the bills related to publishing gun permits was to “get the bills out front to focus on.” He noted he had not yet read today’s column.

The column was a personal attempt to show that you need not be anti-Second Amendment to believe this sort of legislation (specifically SB1126 and HB959) is poor sausage-making. Here are points to consider:

• Passage of this legislation with the criminal penalties would be a constitutional prior restraint on the press for publishing information in the public interest and which history has shown protects the public safety.
• The Tennessee Attorney General opined last year in OP 08-77 that the fine provision in similar legislation could run afoul of the Pentagon Papers prior restraint case – New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1991) per curiam.
• Last year, the press disclosed the fact that permits were being issued to convicted felons because the Safety Department lost its connection to the federal crime database and did not do full criminal background checks for a year or more.  The glitch was fixed after that news was reported.
• Later last year, the press reported that some jurisdictions were not reporting the issuance of orders of protection for alleged domestic violence which meant applicants could get permits by simply marking “No” on the carry permit application. Those reports would become illegal and subject to a fine under this legislation.  That means the press could not do its job.
• The Safety Department reported last month that 627 permits were revoked or suspended in 2008 because permit holders had felony convictions or were placed under court-imposed orders of protection.  It is not known how many of those got permits after their convictions or while under court order.
• The press could not report that someone with a history of mental disorders had received a gun carry permit if that information fell into their hands without the risk of going to jail.
• These problems are being created without any data to support arguments that having the information in the public domain represents any threat to permit holders.  Public safety has been better served having the information open as it was envisioned when the carry permit program was created.
• 218 Tennesseans have carry permits, according to the latest data from Safety.  The application form clearly states the information becomes public “upon submission,” so the threat of disclosure has not been a deterrent.
• All Tennesseans, including those with valid permits and those in law enforcement, are better served without the fear that permits are being given to the wrong people.
• The posting of the searchable database by the Memphis newspaper went unnoticed for two months until it was discovered that a motorist accused of shooting another man in a parking dispute had a permit.

State Rep. Joe McCord, R-Maryville, has a bill in the General Assembly that amounts to prior restraint and censorship. In short, it appears to be unconstitutional.

The McCord-sponsored House Bill 0959 not only closes handgun carry permit applications and renewals, but makes publishing permit information or records a Class A fine only misdemeanor.

The bill is expected to move out of the House Criminal Practice and Procedure subcommittee on Wednesday.

It would be great if lawmakers were as fond of the 1st Amendment as they are of the 2nd Amendment.

I have a call in to Rep. McCord to talk about this bill. It’s bad enough that many in the General Assembly want to close public records, but now there are those who want to make it a crime to publish relevant information; in fact, McCord’s bill is somewhat mirrored by a number of others in the House and Senate — two of which would make publishing the information a Class E felony!

Check out the other bills for yourself: HB1292, HB1514, SB1126, SB0659, SB1568, SB1625, HB0221, and SB0172.