Here we go again

If I were a liberal lawyer, who had an anti-gun agenda, and I was disappointed with the law in Tennessee being changed to allow HCP holders to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol (provided they do not drink), how would I respond?

I would first wait a bit after the law. Especially if I challenged the last one right out of the gates. After everything died down - especially major national news stories - I would get more publicity, and might be able to sway more public opinion. It would also prevent me from looking blatantly anti-gun in a gun-loving state.

I would not challenge this law outright. The Senate Bill actually removed a portion of TCA. I could challenge an addition as being unconstitutional, but that's hard to prove when a law has been removed. Given these circumstances, I would look for an alternate method of making my desires into case law. Like challenging based on occupational safety hazards.

I would find someone who has been "harmed" by the law. Whether there was any actual harm is irrelevant - remember, for this exercise, I am a lawyer - never let facts stand in the way of a good story. And I'd keep this person anonymous, if possible. A victim who's "afraid" of retaliation is automatically seen as needing all our help.

I would announce in the mainstream media when I filed my challenge. Nothing puts pressure on a judge like public opinion. That way, if I don't get the results I want, I can indirectly threaten the judge with replacement at either the next election or appointment cycle.

I would hide behind cliche's and slogans.
"Guns and alcohol do not mix."
"It's for the safety of our servers."

I would ignore real facts and put out my own distortions. Never mind that 42 states allow the same, or substantially similar; I'd say that few if any other states allow for carrying guns and drinking (which none do, including Tennessee). I'd point out that in the restaurant / bar in question, the unnamed server had 1) seen people carrying guns, and; 2) seen many people thrown out of the bar - regardless of whether the server: A) actually saw HCP holders carrying; B) whether the HCP holders drank while carrying (not likely), C) whether the persons ejected form the bar were the same persons that were carrying the guns.

I'd sling allegations at a big, faceless organization. What's the biggest gun organization? Oh, yeah, the NRA. I'll accuse them of strong-arming local politicians. I can also use the angle that the NRA is just trying to push its own agenda (which is really what I'm trying to do).

If I could, I'd go after a pro-gun establishment as a back-handed slap in the face for the icing on top.

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Now, my readers know I'm not really this way. But there are folks that are, as evidenced by the stories quoted herein. Let's see if they did all the things in order:
Lie - check
Deny - check
Make counter-accusations - check.

Also understand that the end objective in this complaint to TOSHA, is to require all restaurants to post "no guns" signs. I have two comments on that:
1. Again, when conservatives don't like something, they avoid it. When liberals don't like something, they try to ban it for everybody.
All restaurants, and all other businesses, may post a gun-banning sign, at their own discretion. Why mandate this for all?
2. Again, I think we in Tennessee need to take the teeth out out of our prohibition sign. We are one of only three states that allow a "no guns" type sign, posted by a private individual, to carry the weight of law (TX and AZ being the other two).