A fight over guns is developing between Tennessee legislators and big cities in the state, reports the Tennessean. Officials in Nashville and a massive event organizer in Memphis say they will prohibit guns at certain parks, despite a new state law that nixes any bans on people with permits taking guns to public parks. The mayors of Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga opposed the law, but it passed nonetheless.
Now, as Tennessee cities prepare for a summer season full of concerts, sporting events and festivals, city and private officials continue to grapple with how they will enforce or follow the controversial new law. The gun law does not specifically exempt concerts and other large-scale park events. So promoters, attorneys and officials in the state’s major cities are trying to determine legal rationales to keep events gun-free.