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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 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.4

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.5

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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. § 49-7-163.[]
  5. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-1-312.[]