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Tennessee Firearms Association
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| Tennessee Firearms Association | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Nashville, Tenn. |
| Type: | 501(c)(4) |
| Top official: | John Harris, Executive Director |
| Year founded: | 1995 |
| Website: | Official website |
Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) is a 501(c)(4), nonprofit group headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The organization seeks to protect the right to bear arms, to restore the government to citizen control, and maintain what it believes is the original intent of both the Bill of Rights and the Tennessee Constitution.[1]
While officially a separate entity, the Tennessee Firearms Association Legislative Action Committee PAC (TFA-LAC PAC) operates very closely with the TFA; the TFA promotes the PAC and allows contributions via its website to the PAC.[2]
Mission
According to the Tennessee Firearms Association, the group's mission is as follows:[1]
| “ |
The Tennessee Firearms Association is dedicated to defending the right to keep and bear arms.[3] |
” |
Background
Founded in 1995, the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) was established as a response to the then-newly amended civilian handgun permit law. The changes, according to the TFA, were problematic in that they made the law difficult to enforce. The organization officially established itself as a 501(c)(4) and broadened its focus to include "restoring government to citizen control and giving full effect to the original intent of the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution as well as to the provisions of the Tennessee Constitution with an emphasis on the 2nd and 10th Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution."[4]
The TFA has 18 local chapters within the state.[5] The organization also maintains a list of state laws regarding firearms and what rights gun owners have and have not.[6]
Activity
Legislative challenge
In 2014, the TFA argued that Tennessee state Rep. Charles Sargent, Jr. (R) was intentionally "holding up legislation that would let gun owners carry openly without a permit." Sargent responded by noting that he had scheduled a vote on Tennessee House Bill 2409 and that the accusation made by the TFA was inaccurate.[7] The TFA stated that "[l]eadership, such as Finance Chairman Charles Sargent, are sadly unwilling to vigorously protect and uphold our most fundamental constitutional rights, such as those protected by the 2nd Amendment, and in some cases fights against bills that expand the right to keep and bear arms."[7] The Tennessean suggested that the TFA was "warning" Sargent that the organization would challenge his re-election; Sargent, an incumbent, was facing a primary challenger that August. Sargent won against Steve Gawrys in the primary on August 7, 2014 and was re-elected in the general election.[7]
Gun free zones
In July 2015, the TFA took a stance against "gun free zones" by asking the governor and the legislature to eliminate such zones. The group argued that gun free zones have been the scenes of shootings and that citizens have not been able to defend themselves because of the restriction on firearms in these zones. John Harris, executive director of the TFA, stated "[h]ow many more individuals, who are capable of defending themselves but for government infringements on their right to carry firearms for self-defense, must be needlessly slaughtered before these killing fields that some call "gun free zones" are abolished in Tennessee?"[8]
Bill opposition
On February 11, 2016, the TFA stated that they opposed two bills being proposed in the Tennessee Legislature. Tennessee HB 1749 proposed to waive "the application and processing fee required with a lifetime handgun carry permit application for retired federal, state, and local law enforcement officers who retired in good standing as certified by the chief enforcement officer from the organization from which the applicant retired." The TFA stated that they opposed distinctions or exceptions made based on jobs or prior jobs.[9][10] The other bill, HB 2580, proposed to establish "the offense of theft of a firearm, which is graded as one classification higher than the value of the firearm under the grading of theft." The TFA did not provide the reason behind their opposition to the bill.[9]
Leadership
John Harris serves as the organization's executive director. According to 2014 tax documents, other individuals receiving payment for services to the TFA are classified as independent contractors.[11]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of TFA's revenue from membership dues, total revenue, and expenses for 2012-2014 fiscal years, as reported to the IRS.
| Annual membership dues, total revenue and expenses for TFA, 2012-2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax year | Membership dues | Total annual revenue | Expenses |
| 2014[11] | $149,264 | $168,370 | $170,431 |
| 2013[12] | $38,333 | $53,197 | $20,536 |
| 2012[13] | $25,462 | $26,347 | $19,970 |
Media
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Tennessee Firearms Association'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 TFA, "Home," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ TFA, "Legislation," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ TFA, "About Tennessee Firearms Association," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ TFA, " Local Chapters Forum," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ TFA, "Resources," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Tennessean, "Tennessee Firearms Association goes after lawmaker," April 9, 2014
- ↑ WGNS, "TN Group Calls For "Gun Free Zones" REMOVED," July 17, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 TFA, "Pending Bill Report - Firearms, Hunting, Civil Rights Restorations," February 11, 2016
- ↑ WGNS, "Constitutional Carry of Firearms in the Tennessee," February 11, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Guidestar, "TFA, IRS Form 990 EZ (2014)," accessed June 23, 2016
- ↑ Guidestar, "TFA, IRS Form 990 EZ (2013)," accessed June 23, 2016
- ↑ Guidestar, "TFA, IRS Form 990 EZ (2012)," accessed June 23, 2016
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