“The handgun battle is heading from Capitol Hill to City Hall. Local governments and advocates for firearms owners are gearing up for a summer face-off over how far to take a new state law that lets people with carry permits bring handguns into parks. City councils across Tennessee, including Nashville and Hendersonville, are moving to reaffirm their bans on handguns in parks following passage of a new state law. But people opposed to handgun restrictions are mobilizing to block their efforts. … A state law signed earlier this month by Gov. Phil Bredesen has touched off the debate. The law is meant to let handgun permit holders carry their weapons into every park in the state, wiping out local policies governing handguns.” [editor’s note: Once again, the greatest value of the 2nd Amendment’s affirmation of the right to bear arms is in not knowing who might be packing in a given situation; someone seeking to do wrong must consider the risks — which disappear instantly when law-abiding citizens (who’ve even gone to the trouble of obtaining carry-permits?) become disarmed by law! - SAT] (06/29/09)