The state Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up a host of gun bills on Tuesday, including a proposal to eliminate the need for Tennesseans to obtain state-issued permits to carry handguns in public.
A similar bill to do away with permits failed on a 4-4 vote in the committee last year. It takes a majority of the votes for bills to advance.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday expressed concerns about getting rid of the permitting system, noting that several laws to loosen gun restriction in Tennessee have been based on the argument that permit holders have passed background checks and have had special training.
They include laws to allow people with permits to be armed in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol and in most parks.
