NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — House leaders who last year fended off a bill to overrule businesses seeking to ban firearms in their parking lots appear to be giving up the fight.
House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick of Chattanooga says he and fellow Republicans just want to put the measure behind them so they can move on to other more pressing issues.
In McCormick's words: "We can argue about it and then pass it, or we can just pass it."
Tennessee Higher education officials are concerned the bill. They’re hoping an exclusion will be included that would prohibit guns on college campuses.
Buddy Peaster is Chief of Police at Middle Tennessee State University.
“I’m sure there are some people who think that it may make for a safer environment and possibly just more of a convenience for those who legally do have weapons... From the standpoint of what we see here at MTSU, we’re really not a huge fan of the bill... It’ll make our job, we feel like, a little more difficult."
The measure is also opposed by business interests including FedEx and Volkswagen, two of Tennessee’s largest employers.