Tennessee judge overturns controversial gun law

We reported in May that the Tennessee legislature had overridden Gov. Phil Bredsen's veto to enact a bill that would allow concealed deadly weapons to be carried in restaurants that serve alcohol. Now a Nashville judge has ruled the law unconstitutional because it is "fraught with ambiguity," Clay Carey and Michael Cass of The Tennessean report. The law made it legal for gun owners to carry weapons in restaurants that served alcohol, but many said it wasn't clear as to the distinction between a restaurant and a bar.

State Sen. Doug Jackson, who sponsored the Senate bill permitting guns in bars, said the law's problems revolve around semantics, not the public policy, and he could propose a new bill as early as next week for the legislature to consider when it reconvenes in January. The state also has the option to appeal the court's ruling. (Read more)