Measure to close gun records fails in Senate

Opponents of a measure to close access to the names of people who hold state-issued permits to carry loaded handguns say its failure Wednesday night is a victory for those who support open government.

The proposal sponsored by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville was defeated 14-13 in the Senate when it failed to get a majority vote. Norris didn't say whether he would try to revive the proposal, which passed the House 83-12 last month.

State Sen. Jim Tracy was listed as present but not voting Wednesday night. He told the Times-Gazette on Thursday that he wanted to see a compromise version of the bill instead of the all-or-nothing approach which was voted on.

"I don't think the records should be totally closed," said Tracy. "I think the bill needs more time to be vetted and amended."

"This is not a gun bill, it's an open records bill," said Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle, D-Memphis. "This is about your open records and your open government. It has nothing to do with guns."

Democratic Sen. Joe Haynes of Goodlettsville said "it's unfair to the people in Tennessee to close these records. It's the wrong thing to do."

Sen. Roy Herron proposed a compromise amendment that seemed more palatable, but it failed on a vote of 11-20. His measure would have closed the database and stopped any postings on the Internet, but it still would have allowed some inspection of records.

"I want the media, or anyone who will, to check the records," said the Dresden Democrat. "That's just the way it should be."

Norris' proposal would have allowed some exceptions, such as opening records in the case of a criminal investigation or if an individual's permit has been revoked.

Tracy said the measure could come back for a vote

Frank Gibson, who runs the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said the bill's defeat is a "victory for people who want open government."

"There were more reasons given on the Senate floor tonight for why the records should remain open than there were reasons for closing it," Gibson said.

State Safety Department records show nearly 1,200 people have lost their permits since 2005.

Revocations are issued for felony convictions, while permits can be suspended for pending criminal charges or for court orders of protection.

Frank Gibson of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government had urged that gun records remain open.

"Law enforcement can find out whether someone has a valid permit, but SB1126 says the information 'shall not be publicly disclosed except as evidence in a criminal or child support enforcement proceeding.'" wrote Gibson. "Would it be left out of an incident report, or worse still be used to deny access to an incident report?

"I know there are differences of opinion among our members about one newspaper's decision to post the database on a Web site," he wrote, "but sealing all the records of a government-regulated program is an unreasonable response .... Under the same circumstances in Virginia, the legislature took two years and addressed it by closing the database only."

TCOG is supported by media groups including the Tennessee Press Association, of which the Times-Gazette is a member.