Local news reports
The state Senate has passed a bill to allow Tennesseans to openly carry guns without a state-issued permit.
The chamber voted 25-2 in favor of the bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Mae Beavers of Mt. Juliet.
Beavers said the measure would keep the background checks and training requirements in order to carry concealed firearms, but would allow anyone legally allowed to own a gun to carry it openly.
The bill would also remove state restrictions on the location of ammunition when firearms are being transported in vehicles, and would allow guns to be removed from cars on school property for the purposes of moving storing them in another part of the vehicle.
The companion bill is awaiting a vote in the budget subcommittee of the House Finance Committee.
This is an example of the gun-rights fanatics shooting themselves in the foot. Open carry is counter-productive to their cause. Proponents say it'll make guns more commonplace and acceptable but it works in exactly the opposite way. People who don't own guns and even reasonable gun owners see open carriers as the extremists and fanatics that they are. Ironically, open carry helps the gun control movement.