Tennessee Attorney General: Private Groups Can’t Ban Guns in Parks

The Tennessee Attorney General’s opinion says private organizations can’t prevent licensed handgun permit holders from taking weapons into events the groups operate at public parks.

The Tennessean reported the July 29 opinion said under a new state law, local governments can’t prohibit permit holders from taking handguns to parks and therefore can’t delegate the authority to anyone else.

Organizers of events at Nashville’s new Ascend Amphitheater and next year’s Memphis in May celebration have told The Tennessean they planned to ban guns. But the attorney general’s opinion seems to say they’re not allowed to ban guns carried by legally licensed permit holders.

Senate Democratic Leader Lee Harris of Memphis, who opposed the new law and requested the opinion, says he’s speaking to others about the opinion and believes it could have “negative implications across the state.”