You know I cannot let this one slide...

Randy Rayburn, a Nashville restaurant owner and one of the main voices against Tennessee's guns in restaurant bill last year, has written an opinion piece that was published in the Tennessean.

Particularly, I would like to address this part-
The phrase that stands out with its lunacy is: "My industry didn't start this fight over people being able to trespass legally on our property with their guns. "

Oh, yes, it did, Mr. Rayburn. And you were at the heart of it!

And may I add, the legislation never permitted trespass of any sort. It simply gave me and others like me the freedom to carry our self defense tools with us when we eat away from home. If ever you had wanted us to leave, all you would have had to do was ask. If an offending party did not leave, then trespass laws were the same as they always have been.

Back on track.
The court case that Rayburn and others started ultimately ruled against the rights of Tennesseans. So we have round 2 this year. Pro-gun, pro-freedom lawmakers have proposed a bill that would put some teeth in another law already on the books. In TN, the law does not permit the operation of a bar. Any establishment serving alcohol must derive over half of its revenues from the sale of food, or face punishment.

What is being done that has Rayburn in an uproar?
Right now, the punishments are handed out subjectively and are never issued consistently. What is being proposed in the legislature would put consistency in the enforcement. Rayburn and others acknowledge this would effectively kill their businesses which illegally derive much more revenue form alcohol sales.

Naturally, this is being done to target Rayburn and his absent-minded cohorts. It is a political game of "Chicken." Normally I do not like politics of this sort - but it is good to see it being done on an important issue.

Why I like it:
Now, under the cover provided by the open threat of having their alcohol sales attacked, these restaurant owners are not paying any attention to the alternative being proposed to promote freedom. Let's watch and see when and how HB1807 gets passed.

Mr Rayburn and others who would grab our individual freedoms away - take note!