Nashville Chief of Police Ronal Serpas has issued a statement regarding Tennessee Handgun Permit Holders and proposed legislation that would allow permit holders to carry their handguns into establishments that sell alcohol for consumption on their premises.  "If all of us think it's not a good idea, I think that should carry some weight with the legislator,"  said Chief Serpas.  Here is the letter sent to members of the Tennessee House of Representatives [ Sheriff's letter ].

What Chief Serpas did not say, probably because he does not know or does not want to speak about,  is that alcohol and guns  have been allowed in some Metro Nashville night clubs for a long time.  Although the proposed legislation

does not allow a person who has a valid Tennessee Handgun Permit to consume any alcohol while in the establishment, Metro Nashville already allows this to occur without  having to enact any new legislation.   


Currently in Metro Nashville, almost all the strip joints don't sell alcohol.  They charge a fee to enter their establishment and, they sell set-ups [soda & mixers] to blend with the personal liquor taken into the establishments by the patrons in 'brown bags'.

Current law stipulates that a handgun permit holder may not carry their handgun into any establishment that sells alcohol for consumption on the premises.  They can enter a location that sells alcohol for consumption off the premises.  Tennessee  Law is MUTE about taking your own personal alcohol into these establishments while carrying your handgun.  Alcohol is not sold.  Only the mixers are sold.  Has anyone heard about any shootings by Tennessee Handgun Permit Holders visiting one of these establishments?  We have heard about 'thug' & 'gangster' shootings but, not by permit holders.  It could also be because the majority of Tennessee Handgun Permit Holders are law abiding people that probably don't patronize these establishments.  However, the way Chief Serpas thinks about law abiding citizens that have undergone a complete criminal background investigation by law enforcement agencies including their County Sheriff, The Tennessee Department of Safety, The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, that as soon as this legislation passess, Tennessee Handgun Permit Holders will immediately begin to drink excessively and start shooting up the establishement and their neighborhood.  This seems to reflect statements when the handgun permit law was proposed in the Tennessee General Assembly in 1993 and 1994.  'The streets will run red with the blood of innocent people'.   Did that happen?  


This proposed legislation primarily addresses establishments that sell  food and alcohol. Not bars that receive the majority of their income from the sale of alcohol.  If Chief Serpas wants to speak against this proposed legislation, lets speak on the issue. Don't try and cloud the issue with statements that are not valid.

Have there been a lot of shootings in Kentucky where a similar law already exists?  The answer is no.  In Kentucky a legally armed citizen may go into any establishment that sells alcohol for consumption on the premises as long as the permit holder does not consume any alcohol [this prvision is also included in the Tennessee proposed legislation by Senator Jackson].  They also require that if any establishment receives more than 51% of their revenues from the sale of alcohol, they must post this on the main enterance to their establishment so legally armed citizens can be aware that this is a location they cannot enter with their firearm [I.e. a bar].   Since Kentucky and Tennessee recognize each others authorization to carry handguns, have their been a number of shooting incidents by Tennessee Handgun Permit Holders in Kentucky?  Again, the answer is no. 

Davidson County Handgun Permit Holders
Are Not Responsible Citizens

If Chief Serpas took the time to investigate if problems with handgun permit holders exists, he could just look at the statistics for Davidson County that are based on actual data, not assumptions.  Again the answer is no [ Davidson county statistics ] . Two percent (2%) of the population of Davidson County have a handgun permit.  Are all of these individuals not responsible enough to be allowed to go to a resturant that sells alcohol and not drink?

The letter from the Tennessee Public Safety Coalition that includes Chief Serpas, says "Firearms and alcohol do not mix" and says in part, "It makes absolutely no sense to us to allow persons to carry guns into establishments where alcohol related fights are most likely to occur."  Well, how many alcohol related fights have been reported at 'The Olive Garden', 'Demos Steak and Spaghetti House', 'Lobster House', 'Hermitage House', 'The Melting Pot', or any of the good restaurants around Nashville? 

Only Law Enforcement Should Be Allowed To Carry

It seems that Chief Serpas and the individuals who are on the Tennessee Public Safety Coalition who mirror  the same positon as Chief Serpas, don't think the average Tennessee Handgun Permit Holder is trustworthy enough to take their family to a restaurant while carrying their handgun. 

Chief Serpas could take a date on the town with his pistol and nobody is going to say anything to him.  If  he is confronted in the establishment or in the parking lot by an armed robber, he has a chance to survive the incident.  Not like the family man who was killed in the parking lot of O'Shannassy's Restaurant  when it was open on Broadway in downtown Nashville on a Sunday afternoon in broad daylight, after eating a meal with his wife.  No, guns were allowed so he was un-armed.  

Property crime is heavy in Nashville. Is Chief Serpas suggesting that your firearm is safer in your vehicle than on your side or in your purse?  He can be safe but any person who possess a handgun permit cannot.  Does this make sense?  Does it make sense to give the criminal element, gangs, and thugs, a better chance to commit their crime because they know that firearms may not be carried by law abiding citizens in or around locations that sell alcohol for consumption.  Criminals will have a better chance to commit their deeds because the odds will continue to be on their side if this legislation does not pass.

Chief Serpas and the other law enforcment individuals who believe that law abiding citizens should be at a disadvantage by not being allowed self-protection by carrying their firearm, should be ashamed to offer better odds to all the gangs in Nashville.  Thinking like this brings us back to the days when individuals wearing a badge and carrying a sidearm believed they were the only ones who should be allowed to carry a firearm, until someone realized that it is not their job to protect the citizens.  It is up to the citizen to protect themselves.  The job of law enforcement is to enforce the law.  Not to protect the general population.  By speaking against legislation like SB 23 / and HB 410, Chief Serpas and others are placing odds on the side of the criminal, gangs, thugs, and are also going back to the days  when individuals in law enforcement thought about themselves and the general public as 'us' and 'them'. 
 
This legislation helps to reinforce the intent of the Tennessee Handgun Permit Law.  To allow  a means of self-defense to the citizens of Tennessee. This legislation is important and needs to be enacted for the safety and welfare of the citizens of Tennessee.