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Tennessee does not require a permit to carry an openly or concealed handgun in public.1 Tennessee also expressly allows a person to carry any firearm, loaded or unloaded, in a lawfully possessed motor vehicle or boat if he or she is not prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm.2

Tennessee expressly forbids any law or any ordinance or resolution adopted by the governing body of a city, county, or metropolitan government that prohibits or regulates the possession, transportation, or storage of a firearm or firearm ammunition while on or utilizing any public or private parking area. The person’s motor vehicle must be parked in a location where it is permitted to be; and the firearm or ammunition being transported or stored in the motor vehicle must be kept from ordinary observation if the person is in the motor vehicle; or kept from ordinary observation and locked within the trunk, glove box, or interior of the person’s motor vehicle or a container securely affixed to the motor vehicle if the person is not in the motor vehicle.3

Tennessee allows entities that tow vehicles or store towed vehicles to remove firearms left in a stored vehicle if doing so would not damage the vehicle. Any firearms removed from a vehicle in this way must be securely stored until retrieved by their owner.4

Tennessee law prohibits public post-secondary institutions from taking any adverse or disciplinary action against an employee or student of that institution solely for such person’s transportation and storage of a firearm or firearm ammunition in compliance with state law while on or using a parking area located on property owned, used, or operated by the post-secondary institution.5

Tennessee law also restricts employers from prohibiting their employees from transporting or storing a firearm or firearm ammunition in an employer parking area if the firearm or ammunition is otherwise lawfully stored in compliance with the section above.6

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  1. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307(a), (g).[]
  2. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-1307(e).[]
  3. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1313(a).[]
  4. Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-38-101.[]
  5. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-163.[]
  6. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-1-312.[]