"Guns-in-bars" law overturned (Tennessean.com 11/22/09)

[Mr Paul C. Paz]

Guns-in-bars ruling is a win for tourism industry By GAIL KERR • tennessean.com  -  November 22, 2009 http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091122/COLUMNIST0101/911220363/1009 That noise you heard Friday afternoon was the sound of celebratory cheers all over Nashville. Nope, not another Titans win (yet). No, the whoops and hollers came from Nashville's tourism promoters and restaurant owners upon hearing the news that a local judge had overturned the state's guns-in-bars law. Score a big one for the home team. The bill, opposed by most restaurant owners and the restaurant industry, and vetoed by Gov. Phil Bredesen, was the worst thing to happen to a tourist town since Prohibition. That it came during a deep recession added to the frustration. "We've had individual visitors canceling their trips," said Butch Spyridon, president of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We got a lot of negative press internationally. When you are a city that leads the list of friendliest cities in the country, it was a tough message to overcome." The legislation, passed by the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year, allowed people with handgun carrying permits to bring guns into bars and restaurants, so long as they were not drinking. Establishments were allowed to "opt out" of the bill, by posting a no-handguns sign on the front door. Nothing says "family-friendly vacation" like a sign assuring Mom that no shots would be fired while Junior eats his chicken fingers. "It was almost worse than the law allowing it," Spyridon said. "It compounded the problem. I am a supporter of the Second Amendment, but guns and alcohol don't mix. For an industry like us, you want and have to convey a safe environment." Randy Rayburn, owner of the Sunset Grill, Midtown and Cabana restaurants, filed a lawsuit with nine other plaintiffs, claiming the law was unconstitutional. On Friday, Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman agreed, calling it "fraught with ambiguity." Among the ambiguities that made this a bad piece of legislation: It was not clear if hotels or country clubs were included. It never specified where the liability would lie if a place opted out. It did not address the safe workplace concerns. "The heart of my worries, in addition to the safety of our customers and employees, was we are in the hospitality business," Rayburn said. "We are in the business of welcoming people from all across this state and country and world to our front doors. The last thing we wanted to say was 'don't enter. ' " The signs on his restaurant doors scared customers who were not familiar with the law, Rayburn said. Tourists and business travelers regularly asked, "Why is there a no-gun sign on the door? Did something happen here?" It remains to be seen if the state will appeal Bonnyman's ruling. Either way, the legislature will undoubtedly take another crack at this in January. But for now, a judge has ruled that guns in bars and restaurants are illegal.