Tennessee has broad statutory preemption. Tenn. Code Section 39-17-1314 vests firearm regulatory authority in the General Assembly and bars every...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Tennessee has broad statutory preemption. Tenn. Code Section 39-17-1314 vests firearm regulatory authority in the General Assembly and bars every county, city, town, municipality, and metropolitan government from regulating the use, purchase, transfer, taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, carrying, sale, acquisition, gift, devise, loan, licensing, registration, storage, or transportation of firearms or ammunition. The statute lists four carve-outs in subsection (b): the carrying of firearms by local-government employees or independent contractors acting in the course and scope of their employment or contract, the discharge of firearms within local boundaries, the location of a sport shooting range, and the enforcement of any state or federal law pertaining to firearms or ammunition (Tenn. Code Section 39-17-1314(b)). Subsection (g), as expanded by Public Chapter 329 (2025), gives any adversely affected party a private cause of action with declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, court costs, and attorney's fees against a political subdivision that adopts or enforces an ordinance violating preemption.
For a Tennessee carrier: if your conduct is lawful under state law, no Tennessee city or county may make it unlawful by ordinance. Local governments may regulate only (1) the carrying of firearms by their own employees or independent contractors acting in the course and scope of their employment or contract, (2) the discharge of firearms within their boundaries, except when and where state law expressly authorizes or permits it, (3) the location of a sport shooting range, and (4) the enforcement of any state or federal law pertaining to firearms, ammunition, or components thereof (Tenn. Code Section 39-17-1314(b)).
A separate preemption statute, Tenn. Code Section 39-17-1329 (added by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1062, effective May 28, 2024), preempts the entire field of legislation regarding extreme risk protection orders. No Tennessee county or municipality may adopt a red-flag ordinance or accept outside funding to enforce one.
Tenn. Code Section 39-17-1314(a) is the preemption clause. The 2024 Tennessee Code provides:
Except as otherwise provided by state law or as specifically provided in subsection (b), the general assembly preempts the whole field of the regulation of firearms, ammunition, or components of firearms or ammunition, or combinations thereof including, but not limited to, the use, purchase, transfer, taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, carrying, sale, acquisition, gift, devise, loan, licensing, registration, storage, and transportation thereof, to the exclusion of all county, city, town, municipality, or metropolitan government law, ordinances, resolutions, enactments or regulation. No county, city, town, municipality, or metropolitan government nor any local agency, department, or official shall occupy any part of the field regulation of firearms, ammunition or components of firearms or ammunition, or combinations thereof.
Two pieces of statutory language do the work. First, the General Assembly "preempts the whole field." This is field preemption, not just conflict preemption: the local government may not legislate in the area at all. The Tennessee Attorney General confirmed this reading in Op. 13-66, Op. 14-25, Op. 17-26, Op. 18-04, and Op. 21-13, and the Court of Appeals applied it in Tennessee Firearms Assoc. v. Metropolitan Gov't, 2017 WL 2590209 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 17, 2017).
Second, the list of preempted activities is broad and non-exclusive ("but not limited to"). The list of preempted entities is comprehensive: every county, city, town, municipality, and metropolitan government, plus any local agency, department, or official. The 1986 prospective-only grandfather clause that once preserved older local firearm ordinances was deleted from Section 39-17-1314(a) effective April 27, 2014 (Op. 17-26 n.1). As of 2014, every local firearm ordinance must conform to current Section 39-17-1314.
Subsection (b) authorizes local governments to regulate three categories. The Attorney General has read these narrowly.
Local-government employees and contractors on duty. Subdivision (b)(1) lets a city, county, town, municipality, or metropolitan government regulate "the carrying of firearms by employees or independent contractors . . . when acting in the course and scope of their employment or contract." This is subject to Section 39-17-1313 (vehicle storage by permit holders and lawful carriers). Op. 21-13 confirmed that this carve-out does not let a local-government employer bar off-duty employee possession that state law permits.
Discharge within local boundaries. Op. 13-66 reads the omission of "discharge" from Section 39-17-1314(a) as deliberate. A local government may prohibit firearm discharge within its jurisdiction so long as the ordinance does not conflict with Tennessee statutes or with Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission rules governing permitted hunting. A self-defense exception applies: Tennessee law prohibits local municipalities from enforcing a no-discharge ordinance against a person who discharged a firearm in lawful self-defense or to prevent a crime.
Carry on locally owned public property (through Section 39-17-1359 posting). Section 39-17-1311 historically allowed local governments to prohibit handgun possession in public parks, playgrounds, civic centers, and other property owned or operated for recreational purposes. That carve-out has been narrowed. As of July 1, 2021 (Public Chapter 108), a local government may not prohibit an enhanced handgun carry permit holder from possessing a handgun on local-government property unless it provides a security system consisting of metal detectors and inspection by trained personnel under Section 39-17-1359(g)(1). The security-system requirement does not apply to schools, colleges or universities, libraries, licensed mental health and substance abuse facilities, law enforcement agency buildings, or courtrooms under Section 39-17-1359(g)(2), where signage alone is sufficient. For meetings of governing bodies, signage under Section 39-17-1359(a), (b), and (g) is the mechanism. Op. 18-04 confirms that counties and municipalities may not prohibit or otherwise regulate firearm possession on public property in a manner that conflicts with state law.
Subsection (f) of Section 39-17-1314 extends preemption to knives and other weapons: "no city, county, or metropolitan government shall occupy any part of the field of regulation of the transfer, ownership, possession or transportation of knives or other weapons." A local ordinance regulating concealed knives or non-firearm defensive tools is preempted on the same terms as a firearm ordinance.
Subsection (g) of Section 39-17-1314 gives any adversely affected party a private cause of action. Under subdivision (g)(1)(A), a party may sue a county, city, town, municipality, or metropolitan government, or any local agency, department, or official, if the party is adversely affected by:
The notwithstanding clause overrides title 29, chapter 20 (Governmental Tort Liability Act), title 9, chapter 8 (Board of Claims), and Section 20-13-102. Remedies include declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees for the prevailing party.
Public Chapter 329 (2025) (HB 873 / SB 1360, effective July 1, 2025) amended subsection (g) to expand who counts as an "adversely affected party": a person who will be subject to a preempted ordinance in the future, or who reasonably intends to be physically present in the political subdivision, now qualifies. The 2025 amendment also consolidated the civil-action framework against arms dealers, manufacturers, and sellers and repealed former subsection (e). The fee-shifting provision makes private enforcement economically viable.
Subsections (c) and (d) of Section 39-17-1314 reserve to the state the authority to sue firearm or ammunition manufacturers, trade associations, and dealers for damages, abatement, or injunctive relief arising from the lawful design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, importation, or sale of firearms or ammunition. No county, city, town, municipality, or metropolitan government may bring such an action. Subsection (d) lists the limited categories an individual or political subdivision may bring (breach of contract, breach of express warranty, defects in materials or workmanship). Former subsection (e) was repealed by Public Chapter 329 (2025).
Tenn. Code Section 39-17-1329 is a separate preemption statute, added by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1062 (SB 2763 / HB 1640), effective May 28, 2024. Subsection (b) provides:
Except as otherwise provided by state law, the general assembly preempts the entire field of legislation regarding extreme risk protection orders to the exclusion of all county, city, town, municipality, or metropolitan government law, ordinances, resolutions, enactments, or regulation.
Subsection (c) prohibits any political subdivision from accepting a grant or other funding to implement an order that would have the effect of enforcing an extreme risk protection order against a Tennessee resident. The statute defines an "extreme risk protection order" as a judicial order whose primary purpose is to reduce the risk of firearm-related death or injury by prohibiting a named individual from possession of a firearm or by removing or requiring its surrender. Domestic-violence protection orders under title 36, chapter 3, part 6 are expressly excluded.
Tennessee has no state red-flag statute. Section 39-17-1329 codifies that absence and bars cities and counties from filling the gap. Governor Lee signed the bill on May 28, 2024, after the General Assembly declined to enact a state red-flag framework during the 2023 special session following the Covenant School shooting.
Preemption is a doctrine about what local governments may regulate. Other layers continue to operate:
Tennessee state preemption is a different doctrine from federal preemption. Section 39-17-1314 is a state-law rule about what local governments inside Tennessee may regulate; the General Assembly preempts the local layer.
Federal preemption of state firearm law is much narrower. The Gun Control Act does not generally preempt state firearm law except in specific zones: 18 U.S.C. Section 926A (FOPA interstate transport, when the firearm is unloaded and inaccessible and the traveler is moving between two states where possession is lawful) preempts conflicting state and local law during qualifying transport. LEOSA preempts conflicting state law in its zone. Outside those zones, states may impose restrictions beyond federal minimums but may not remove federal restrictions. A Tennessee resident still cannot possess a firearm in violation of federal Section 922(g)(1) even where state law would otherwise permit.
The Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act and the 2014 expansion in SB 1756 / HB 2144 attempted to assert state authority over federal firearm regulation. Op. 14-24 and Op. 14-25 concluded those provisions would conflict with federal law and were either preempted or constitutionally infirm.
If you carry lawfully under state law (constitutional carry per Section 39-17-1307(g), an enhanced permit per Section 39-17-1351, or a concealed permit per Section 39-17-1366), no Tennessee city or county may make your conduct unlawful by ordinance. A local rule purporting to ban carrying on a public sidewalk, a publicly owned plaza, a city greenway, or a publicly accessible parking area is void unless it fits a Section 39-17-1314(b) carve-out or the Section 39-17-1359 posting framework. State-statutory prohibited places in Sections 39-17-1321(b), 39-17-1306, and 39-17-1309 operate under state authority and continue to apply.
If a local-government official, security guard, or police officer attempts to enforce a preempted ordinance against you:
The only local rules you must comply with are: Section 39-17-1314(b)(1) employment rules if you are a county or city employee on duty; local discharge ordinances (with the self-defense and crime-prevention exception under Op. 13-66); and Section 39-17-1359 posted-notice restrictions on locally owned property (with the metal-detector and trained-personnel requirement at non-exempt buildings under Section 39-17-1359(g)(1)).
Tennessee statutes:
Federal: 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g) (federal prohibitors), Section 922(q) (Gun-Free School Zones Act), Section 926A (FOPA interstate transport), Section 930 (federal facilities).
Tennessee Attorney General opinions: Op. 13-66 (local discharge ordinances permitted); Op. 14-24 and Op. 14-25 (federal-preemption limits on state nullification efforts); Op. 17-26 (zoning vs. firearm regulation); Op. 18-04 (interaction of Sections 39-17-1311 and 39-17-1314); Op. 21-13 (local-government employment policies); 2009 Nashville Metropolitan Legal Opinion 2009-03 (historical pre-2014 grandfather application to Metro park ordinance).
Case law: Tennessee Firearms Assoc. v. Metropolitan Gov't, 2017 WL 2590209 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 17, 2017); Capitol News Co., Inc. v. Metropolitan Gov't of Nashville and Davidson County, 562 S.W.2d 430 (Tenn. 1978); Haynes v. City of Pigeon Forge, 883 S.W.2d 619 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994).
The operative rule has not changed. Section 39-17-1314 preempts the whole field of firearm regulation by Tennessee counties, cities, towns, municipalities, and metropolitan governments, subject only to the subsection (b) carve-outs and the Section 39-17-1359 posting framework. Section 39-17-1329 adds a second preempted field (extreme risk protection orders). Section 39-17-1314(g), as expanded in 2025, gives an adversely affected party a private cause of action with damages and attorney's fees against any political subdivision that adopts or enforces an ordinance violating the preemption statute.
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