NASHVILLE, July 1 (UPI) -- A Nashville businessman says he will go to court to block a new Tennessee law allowing bar patrons to carry guns.
Randy Rayburn told The (Nashville) Tennessean that the law that goes into effect later this month is a threat to public safety and puts bar and restaurant owners like himself at risk of having their businesses shut down as a nuisance in the event someone is shot.
Rayburn's lawyer, David Smith, told the newspaper that he will seek a temporary injunction suspending the new law until its constitutionality is determined.
"Courts have historically shut down bars with guns in them or where shootings occurred," Smith said. "It's called a nuisance bar. If a bar has shootings in it, it normally gets shut down."
Rayburn is also angry at the way proponents of the measure campaigned for the law. He contended the backers of the bill wrongly claimed that 40 other states had laws allowing individuals with gun permits to bring a weapon into a bar or restaurant.
A spokesman for the Tennessee Firearms Association, which backed the measure, dismissed the allegations and said opponents had ample opportunity to voice their concerns to state lawmakers.
