According to data compiled and reported by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, since 2010, 3,215 Tennessee gun permits have been revoked.

Over half, 1,932, were revoked in the last two years.

Gun permits are revoked for a variety of reasons that can be found in TCA 39-17-1302.  Many revocations are due to the permit holder being found guilty of a felony offense, a domestic violence offense, or being subject to an order of protection.

Last fall, Representative Bruce Griffey filed HB1533, legislation that would allow anyone in legal possession of a firearm to carry, open or concealed, in public without a gun permit or any training required. Tennessee is 11th in the nation for firearm mortality. There are currently 16 permitless carry states. Of the ten states with higher firearm mortality rates that Tennessee, six are permitless carry. Griffey’s bill will be considered in this legislative session.

While the number of permit denials and suspensions have increased significantly since 2010, they have been relatively stable over the last four years, unlike revocations that have climbed steadily for the last six years, with the biggest increases in the last two years.

	TOTAL	ORIGINAL	DENIALS	SUSPENSIONS	REVOCATIONS
2019	133,736	31,147	2,326	1,792	1,001
2018	189,674	37,981	2,616	1,906	931
2017	218,536	38,394	2,882	1,803	449
2016	180,525	71,938	2,652	1,997	404
2015	138,323	55,829	3,292	2,076	291
2014	131,506	46,042	1,659	1,257	284
2013	192,613	83,309	1,489	1,501	367
2012	114,031	52,379	574	1,105	284
2011	94,975	42,151	552	896	97
2010	102,879	41,044	329	756	108
TOTALS	1,363,553	469,067	16,045	13,297	3,215

This data pertains to what is now the “enhanced carry permit.” Until this year, this was the only permit available in Tennessee. To obtain the permit, applicants were required to undergo a background check and attend a gun safety class that included four hours of classroom instruction and four hours of live fire range training under the supervision of a trained firearm safety instructor. Individuals who passed the class were issued a permit allowing them to carry loaded guns, open or concealed, anywhere guns were legally allowed.

In 2019, the Tennessee legislature passed a law creating a second type of gun permit called a “concealed carry permit.” To obtain a concealed carry permit, applicants need only to undergo a background check and watch an online video. Individuals with a concealed carry permit are allowed to carry concealed guns anywhere guns are allowed with the exception of higher education campuses.

A startling number of Tennessee permit holders are committing crimes serious enough to have their permits revoked. It’s hard to look at these numbers and think the solution is less safety training to carry in public, or no longer requiring any training or screening whatsoever, yet inexplicably, that’s the direction our legislature is headed.