prior to carry permit, carrying with the intent to go hunting was legal whereas DOING the exact same thing (walking around with a gun) with the intent to go armed was illegal. the carry permit law didn't completely negate that.
so for example, if you are going to visit someone and you expect to confront them and maybe get into an altercation (perhaps you just found out some dude cheated you out of some money or was messing around with your wife or something and you're going to talk to them about it), and you carry a gun, you could still be found guilty even with a carry permit.
I disagree. He'd be liable for anything unlawful he did with the firearm. And if so, he could expect to be charged appropriately. But the charges wouldn't include "going armed".
TN gun laws get their teeth from the TN Constitution which states "That the citizens of this State have a right to keep and to bear arms for their common defense; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime. " This may be tested one day because of the Heller and McDonald decisions. But until then, the Tennessee Constitution gives the Legislature the authority to regulate the wearing of arms, which they did by declaring that carrying or wearing a firearm outside of lawful hunting, target shooting, etc. in public was a crime. There are several enumerated defenses to the charge of "going armed" within the "going armed" statute, and one of them is that the person has a Handgun Carry Permit.
And yes, a TN Handgun Carry Permit doesn't limit one to open carry or concealed carry--either are permissible by law.
Where this trips up the open carriers, however, is that by TN Law, carrying a firearm outside of obvious hunting, target shooting, etc. constitutes probable cause that the person is "going armed"--a crime. Other states require a permit to conceal firearms but allow open carry without a permit. Police who confront and/or detain someone in one of those states for the mere act of behaving lawfully while being openly armed are usually acting improperly. But in Tennessee, a handgun carry permit holder who openly carries and becomes the subject of a "man with a gun" complaint can be detained for probable cause--not just reasonable suspicion--and be required to produce a handgun carry permit.
If you're going to
openly carry a firearm with a handgun carry permit in Tennessee, it would be wise to understand this. Expect to be confronted by police sooner or later, and understand that they have probable cause to believe that you are committing a crime until you produce that permit. Police in Tennessee are slowly becoming conditioned to expect that an armed man they see walking peacefully down the street likely has a permit. They may take no action if they're the ones to spot you first and you appear to be otherwise acting lawfully. But if they are responding to a 911 complaint about you, they will be more concerned with their liability for not at least checking to make sure you have the permit.
It can be an unpleasant encounter for both parties. The permit holder usually feels like he's getting harassed, and the police will be trying to do their due dilligence while seeking a balance between not wanting to be too overbearing or aggressive while maintaining some degree of officer safety. Some will, no doubt, tip the scales too far in the "officer safety" direction and approach you gun-in-hand to disarm you (and they may lawfully disarm handgun carry permit holders for the duration of the encounter, though not all will). It is much easier to save stress on everyone, from the soccer mom who dials 911, to the responding police officers, and to you by just keeping your handgun out of sight.
