Summary of Campus Concealed Carry Rights and Responsibilities
Effective July 1, 2016, Tennessee Code Annotated 39-17-1309 was amended to allow full-time employees of public institutions of higher education to carry concealed handguns if they have a valid handgun permit recognized by TCA 39-17-1351 and meet specific requirements.
Tennessee Public Chapter 1061, describing the campus concealed handguns amendment
The right to carry concealed handguns is subject to but not limited to the following conditions:
- Employees shall not carry a handgun openly or in any other manner in which the handgun is visible to ordinary observation by a reasonable person (concealed).
- Employees shall have their handgun carry permit in their immediate possession at all times when carrying a handgun and display the permit at the request of a law enforcement officer.
- Employees shall not carry a weapon other than a handgun.
- Employees shall not carry a handgun at the following times or at the following locations:
- Stadiums, gymnasiums, or auditoriums where Institution-sponsored events are in progress;
- In meetings regarding student or employee disciplinary matters;
- In meetings regarding tenure issues;
- A hospital, a student health or counseling center, or an office where medical or mental health services are the primary services provided; or
- Any location where a provision of state or federal law, except the posting provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1359, prohibits the carrying of a handgun on that property, such as on the premises of a childcare agency or K-12 school, etc.
- Institutions of higher education may provide additional guidelines and requirements to carry on campus. It is the employee’s responsibility to be familiar and comply with additional policies.
- Failure to comply with Tennessee law or the institution’s policies may result in criminal charges and the institution disciplining the employee up to and including termination of employment.
Instructions for Employees Intending to Notify the Metro Nashville Police Department
- Are you an eligible public institution of higher education employee* under the revised law?
*Under the revised law, employee is defined as: all faculty, staff, and other persons who are employed on a full-time basis by a public institution of higher education. Employee does not include a person who is enrolled as a student at a public institution of higher education, regardless of whether the person is also an employee. - Do you currently have a valid Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit?
- Have you reviewed any policy and procedures unique to your institution?
If you have answered YES to these questions and you wish to notify the MNPD in compliance with the revised law, please complete the attached form and follow instructions on submission.
Note: if your institution employs its own sworn law enforcement officers (example: Tennessee State University Police), you must notify that agency. Only those employees of public institutions of higher education who do not have their own law enforcement agency are required to notify the MNPD.
Notify the MNPD of an employee's intent to carry concealed handgun on campus
If you have any questions regarding registration with the MNPD, please email [email protected]
Questions regarding eligibility or institutional policy should be directed to the leadership of the individual institution.