Charlie Daniels Park in Mount Juliet was full of people, music, food, and guns for an event named "The 2nd Amendment is Homeland Security."
At the event Saturday, talk of recent terror attacks took center stage.
"As good as our law enforcement is, they can get there in minutes when seconds matter," congressional candidate Joe Carr said.
Carr's answer to terrorism has been arming more people with firearms.
"The fact of the matter is they're preying as predators do on soft targets. Soft targets are defined as gun free zones," said Carr.
To help, he decided to give away an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
"An assault rifle is no different than any other rifle. As a matter of fact, an assault rifle by definition is a rifle that is used in an assault," Carr explained.
He's the second Tennessee politician in the wake of the Orlando massacre to hold a giveaway like this.
In June, Representative Andy Holt announced plans to give away an AR-15 and received national attention for it.
"I think they misunderstand the role of the Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights and the 2nd Amendment with not just the obligation but the responsibility people have to protect themselves," said Carr.
Carr said he wanted to put more guns in the hands of citizens rather than keeping firearms out of the hands of terrorists.
"I don't think you can ever stop them because if you look at the Boston Marathon bombings, they had access to pressure cookers. So the answer isn't to outlaw guns or to regulate guns or regulate the size of clips, that's not the answer. The answer is to get rid of these soft targets," said Carr.
Those entering the prize drawing for the AR-15 will have to pass a background check. The drawing has been set to be held on July 4.
