Can a Tennessee business or property owner keep an off-duty police officer or commissioned reserve deputy from carrying a gun on their property by posting a no-guns sign or telling them no guns are allowed?

Plain-English summary

Rep. Dale Carr asked AG Slatery how Tennessee's broad law-enforcement carry authority interacts with the standard "no firearms" sign that businesses and property owners post under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1359.

The opinion is direct: the statutory authority for officers controls. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350(a) says, "Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any law enforcement officer may carry firearms at all times and in all places within Tennessee, on-duty or off-duty, regardless of the officer's regular duty hours or assignment, except as provided by subsection (c), federal law, lawful orders of a court or the written directives of the executive supervisor of the employing agency." Subsection (b) of the same statute "expressly intended to and shall supersede restrictions placed upon law enforcement officers' authority to carry firearms by other sections within this part."

That includes § 39-17-1359, the property-owner posting statute. Properly posted no-firearms signs limit handgun carry permit holders licensed under § 39-17-1351. The posting statute itself, in subsection (a)(2), says it applies "to any person who is authorized to carry a firearm by authority of § 39-17-1351." Law enforcement officers carry under § 39-17-1350, not § 39-17-1351. So the posting reaches permit holders but not officers.

The carry authority covers full-time POST-certified police officers, commissioned reserve deputy sheriffs who have written authorization from the sheriff, certain corrections staff, constables, and people in the offices of district attorneys general, with their respective training requirements set in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350(d)(1)-(4).

There are limited exceptions in § 39-17-1350(c). Officers do not get the benefit of the statute when they go on school grounds or into school buildings unless they have first informed the principal; when they are consuming alcohol, beer, or controlled substances or are under the influence; or when they are attending a judicial hearing not as part of their actual duties. There is also a population-bracket exception in § 39-17-1350(e) limiting some carry to officers of that county or its municipalities. The footnote in this opinion identifies the bracket as applying to Bedford and Rutherford Counties under the 1990, 2000, and 2010 censuses.

For verbal warnings, the answer is even cleaner. Section 39-17-1359(b) requires postings to be in English (with optional additional languages), at specified locations, with specified wording and graphics in specified sizes. Verbal notice does not satisfy any of those requirements. So even if § 39-17-1359 applied to officers (and it does not), a verbal warning would not be effective notice anyway.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2018. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Tennessee's firearms statutes have been amended several times since 2018, including significant changes to the handgun carry permit framework. Anyone making a current decision about carry authority on private property should check the latest versions of §§ 39-17-1350, -1351, and -1359.

Common questions

Q: What about a private business that genuinely does not want any firearms inside, including officers'?
A: Under the opinion, a § 39-17-1359 posting does not bind a law enforcement officer. As long as the person carrying is a "law enforcement officer" within § 39-17-1350(d) and none of the (c) exceptions apply, the carry is authorized notwithstanding the property owner's posting.

Q: A reserve deputy sheriff isn't paid full-time. Are they covered?
A: Yes, but only if they have written authorization from the sheriff and meet the training requirements in § 39-17-1350(d)(1). Without those, the reserve deputy is treated as a private citizen and would be subject to handgun-carry-permit rules and posted no-guns signs.

Q: What about the school-grounds exception?
A: Under § 39-17-1350(c), the carry authority does not extend to an officer going on school grounds or into a school building unless the officer first informs the principal. The opinion treats this as one of the statute's enumerated exceptions and does not address what happens beyond it.

Q: Does this rule apply when the officer is in plain clothes and not announcing they are an officer?
A: The statute keys the authority to the officer's status, not to whether the person is in uniform or announces the status. The opinion does not condition the carry authority on appearance.

Background and statutory framework

Tennessee's framework for who can carry a firearm on private property has three main pieces. Section 39-17-1351 sets up the handgun carry permit system for private citizens. Section 39-17-1359 lets a property owner, operator, manager, or agent prohibit weapons on the premises by posting signs that meet specific format requirements. Section 39-17-1350 grants broad statutory carry authority to law enforcement officers and expressly supersedes other restrictions in Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.

The text of § 39-17-1350(a) ("Notwithstanding any law to the contrary") and § 39-17-1350(b) (express supersession clause) leaves no daylight: where the statute applies, other restrictions in the same part fall away. Arden v. Kozawa, 466 S.W.3d 758, 764 (Tenn. 2015), recites the rule that clear and unambiguous text is read and applied according to its plain meaning.

The opinion notes one structural feature worth flagging: § 39-17-1350(e) limits carry authority in certain population-bracket counties to officers of those counties or their municipalities. As of the 1990, 2000, and 2010 censuses, the bracket fits Bedford and Rutherford Counties. Officers from elsewhere working in those counties off-duty should confirm current status.

Citations

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(11)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350(a), (b), (c), (d)(1)-(4), (e)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1351
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1359(a)(2), (b)(1)-(4)
• Arden v. Kozawa, 466 S.W.3d 758 (Tenn. 2015)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2018/op18-22.pdf

Original opinion text

May 24, 2018
Opinion No. 18-22

Authority of an Off-duty Law Enforcement Officer to Carry a Firearm on Public or Private Property

Question 1
To what extent is an off-duty law enforcement officer, including a commissioned reserve deputy sheriff or police officer, authorized to carry a firearm on public or private property upon which notice is posted in accordance with applicable law prohibiting firearms on the property?

Opinion 1
Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350 "any law enforcement officer may carry firearms at all times and in all places within Tennessee, on-duty or off-duty." A full-time police officer who has been certified by the police officer standards and training commission and a commissioned reserve deputy sheriff who has received written authorization from the sheriff are among those defined as "law enforcement officers" under the statute. Their authority to carry a firearm on public or private property within Tennessee is limited only by the enumerated exceptions in the statute itself. A posting prohibiting firearms on the property is not one of those exceptions. Unless one of the exceptions in the statute applies, law enforcement officers may carry firearms onto public or private property in Tennessee, even if there is a posted prohibition.

Question 2
To what extent is an off-duty law enforcement officer, including a commissioned reserve deputy sheriff or police officer, authorized to carry a firearm on public or private property upon which written notice is not posted in accordance with applicable law, but for which verbal notice is given by the owner, operator, manager, or agent of such person that firearms are prohibited on the premises?

Opinion 2
Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1359 describes the circumstances and manner in which one who owns, operates, manages, or controls property may prohibit weapons on the property. That statute does not apply to law enforcement officers carrying firearms and, as discussed in Opinion 1, may not be used to prohibit them from carrying firearms onto public or private property in Tennessee. In addition, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1359 describes the precise manner in which prohibitions against weapons must be posted. Even if the statute did apply to law enforcement officers, verbal notice that firearms are prohibited on the property would not satisfy the statutory posting requirements.

ANALYSIS

1. The questions posed necessitate an analysis of the relationship between Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350, which governs the authority of law enforcement officers to carry firearms, and Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1359, which describes when and how persons who own, operate, manage, or control property may prohibit weapons on the property.

Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1350 defines in very broad terms the authority of law enforcement officers to carry firearms on either public or private property:

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any law enforcement officer may carry firearms at all times and in all places within Tennessee, on-duty or off-duty, regardless of the officer's regular duty hours or assignment, except as provided by subsection (c), federal law, lawful orders of a court or the written directives of the executive supervisor of the employing agency.

So long as one meets the statutory definition of a "law enforcement officer," one's otherwise unfettered ability to carry firearms onto public or private property may be limited only by federal law, lawful orders of a court, the written directives of the appropriate person at the employing agency, or those limits set forth in § 39-17-1350(c). A full-time police officer who has been certified by the police officer standards and training commission and a commissioned reserve deputy sheriff who has received written authorization from the sheriff are among those defined as "law enforcement officers" under the statute. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350(d)(1).

The referenced subsection (c) states that the authority in the statute will not be extended to law enforcement officers going on school grounds or in school buildings unless they immediately inform the principal, or to law enforcement officers consuming or under the influence of beer, alcohol, a controlled substance or a controlled substance analogue, or to law enforcement officers attending a judicial hearing, but not engaged in the discharge of actual duties.

Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1350 expressly supersedes all other laws within Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13, which might otherwise appear to limit the ability of law enforcement officers to carry firearms:

(b) The authority conferred by this section is expressly intended to and shall supersede restrictions placed upon law enforcement officers' authority to carry firearms by other sections within this part.

The language of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350 granting law enforcement officers broad authority to carry firearms on public and private property, naming only a few specific exceptions, and expressly superseding other laws on the subject, is clear and unambiguous. It must be read and applied according to its plain meaning. Arden v. Kozawa, 466 S.W.3d 758, 764 (Tenn. 2015). A posting prohibiting firearms on the property pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1359 is not one of the exceptions listed in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350, and therefore such a posting is ineffective as against law enforcement officers.

2. Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1359 describes the circumstances and manner in which one who owns, operates, manages, or controls property may prohibit weapons on the property. That statute plainly states that any such prohibitions shall apply "to any person who is authorized to carry a firearm by authority of § 39-17-1351." Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1351 sets forth the procedure for private citizens to obtain handgun carry permits. Because of the superseding effect of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350, discussed above, and the self-limiting language of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1359(a)(2), it is clear that law enforcement officers may not be prohibited from carrying firearms on public or private property, except as specified in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350.

In addition, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1359 describes the precise manner in which prohibitions against weapons must be posted. The statute describes where the postings must be located and specifies that English must be used with an option to use additional languages. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-1359(b)(1)-(2). It specifies the wording to be used, the graphics required, and the sizes of both the written and graphic postings. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-1359(b)(3)-(4). The statute does not provide for verbal notice. Thus, even if the statute did apply to law enforcement officers, verbal notice that firearms are prohibited on the property would not satisfy the statutory posting requirements.

[Footnote 1: Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1350 authorizes law enforcement officers to carry "firearms." Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(11) defines a "firearm," as used in Title 39, as "any weapon designed, made or adapted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or any device readily convertible to that use."]

[Footnote 2: There is an additional limitation in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350(e) which states that in counties with populations within a specified range the authority to carry firearms "shall only apply to law enforcement officers who are law enforcement officers for those counties or law enforcement officers for municipalities located therein." Considering the federal census data for 1990, 2000 and 2010, this limitation applies to Bedford and Rutherford Counties.]

[Footnote 3: Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 39-17-1350(d)(1)-(4) list and define various persons considered "law enforcement officers" for purposes of that statute. They include certain corrections staff, constables, and persons in the offices of district attorneys general. The statute also describes the training requirements for each of these categories of persons to be considered "law enforcement officers."]

HERBERT H. SLATERY III
Attorney General and Reporter

ANDRÉE SOPHIA BLUMSTEIN
Solicitor General

DIANNA BAKER SHEW
Assistant Attorney General

Requested by:
The Honorable Dale Carr
State Representative
568 Cordell Hull Building
Nashville, Tennessee 37243