Governor signs bill to allow guns in all Tennessee parks

Local governments in Tennessee can no longer bar people with handgun carry permits from taking firearms to parks, playgrounds and sports fields under legislation signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.

The measure was introduced as a welcome gift from gun-friendly Tennessee lawmakers to the more than 70,000 people who attended the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Nashville earlier this month.

The bill got tied up amid bickering between Republicans who control both the state House and Senate, and only passed once lawmakers agreed to remove the Capitol complex from the areas where permit holders could be armed.

Opponents say the final version is still confusing due to a provision banning guns "within the immediate vicinity" of school activities, but not defining a specific distance.

Back in March, Kathleen Chandler Wright, a member of the Tennessee chapter of the Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said the measure raises serious concerns for parents.

"It's going to be allowing people to carry guns into playgrounds and places where we take our children," she said. "It doesn't seem right to have them come in and override the community's decision on whether to allow the guns."

But supporters of loosening handgun carry laws in Tennessee have long argued that permit holders' background checks and training ensure that they are responsible enough to be armed in most public situations.

Meanwhile, Nashville's mayor, Karl Dean, a critic of the measure, told reporters on Friday — before the legislation was signed — that he would have no choice, but to follow law, The Tennessean newspaper reported.

"I was opposed to the bill, opposed to having guns in parks and if that becomes the law in the state of Tennessee and our local option is taken away from us, we'll have to follow the law," Dean said. 

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press