During last fall’s hunting season, a group of six Tennessee duck hunters received a surprise citation while hunting a private 17-acre marsh in Sweetwater, a city in Monroe County: “discharging firearms inside the city limits.” The case—and legislation that it has prompted—has the potential to impact waterfowlers and other hunters throughout the rest of the Volunteer State.
According to News Channel 9, the incident was spurred by complaints over the sound of shooting—not any reckless behavior. The citation was issued because of a city ordinance prohibiting shooting within city limits; however, the Tennessee Attorney General issued a 2013 opinion that stated that municipalities could not issue ordinances that “conflict with Tennessee statutes or regulations that regulate the discharge of firearms, including proclamations, rules, and regulations of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission related to permitted hunting in areas under its jurisdiction.”
Unfortunately, the Sweetwater municipal judge found the hunters guilty, and the ruling was later upheld after an appeal to a circuit judge. Circuit Judge Michael Jeene said that though hunting laws dictate safe shooting distances from dwellings, there is no explicit authorization for shooting guns within municipal limits.
Though the fines from the case are minor, the hunters plan to continue appealing the ruling, partly because of its potential to impact hunting within city limits elsewhere in the state, including duck clubs. In the meantime, the case, which is still being appealed through the court system, has prompted state lawmakers to put forward legislation that would likely prevent similar conflicts in the future.
HB2017, or SB2028, was introduced by State Senator Adame Lowe and State Representative Mark Cochran. If passed, it would “clarify that local governmental entities shall not regulate the manner and means of taking wildlife, including the discharge of a firearm while lawfully hunting, and that such taking is regulated pursuant to rules promulgated and proclamations issued by the fish and wildlife commission.”
In other words, the authority to decide where hunters could and couldn’t discharge firearms while legally hunting would be put under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and prohibit towns and cities from issuing conflicting ordinances.
The bill passed both the State House and Senate agriculture and natural resources committees on February 25. It would be a win for hunters throughout the state and is being supported by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. “Wildlife management in Tennessee has long been handled at the state level to ensure consistency, science-based decision-making, and fair application of regulations across the state,” explained a spokesperson for the organization. “This bill reinforces that framework by preventing a patchwork of local ordinances that could create confusion or uneven enforcement of hunting laws.”