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New Attorney General determined

ProguninTN

Regular Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
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416
Location
, Tennessee, USA
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http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/NEWS0201/610310344/1001&GID=PaQmHwE/nz35OTf8IkXavQmhTSFzZjROdpvLYsyf0LE%3D



The State Supreme Court selected Gov. Phil Bredesen's lawyer as the new AG. I am assuming that Robert E. Cooper, Jr. is a Democrat like the governor. As we know, Democrats are a mixed bag. There are some who have supported 2A issues, such as Rep. Ben West and Rep. Frank Buck, and there are those who have opposed us, ie. Speaker Jimmy Naifeh.

As we know, outgoing AG Summers issued the opinion regarding open carry found on the front of this site in response to questions asked by Rep. West. AG Summers also opined that SSN disclosure is not required for purchasing firearms. However, AGSummers opined that the HCP is a "recreational license", therefore an applicant must disclose his/her SSN on the application depite the Federal Privacy Act.

Keeping these issues in mind, what does everyone think about the selection of Cooper ? Is he goodor bad on 2A issues ?

ProguninTN
 

Mike

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Well, when the guy gets sworn in and finds his desk, somebody authorized to ask him questions needs to ask him to re-answer the question as to the SSN requirement for a CHP under the theory that a CHP is a recreational license exempted from the Privacy Act's SSN disclosure protection at 42 USC 666.

The person asking needs to point out that since the TN Ag answered this question, the OH, KS, and NE AGs have answered the other way. Furthermore, a federal judge rejected PA's claim that a LTCF was a recreational license in Stollenwerk v. Miller et al. (2006).

Given these new authoirites, the new AG ought to come to a new answer in TN.
 

JSK333

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May 20, 2006
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Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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Definitely request a new opinion on the SSN issue.

It took about one month from when I wrote our AG in Ohio about this issue until he issued his official opinion that giving the SSN on our CHL application form was not required. At first I got emails from his office that suggested he would not concede requiring it was illegal. But eventually, I'm sure from others writing and threatening lawsuits agains the State, he did do the research and issue the correct opinion.

I printed and took that AG opinion to my CHL application app't, and having it was pretty much necessary for the people at the Sheriff's Office to proceed w/o my SSN. When they read the opinion and called a local agency about it, they were then OK with it. They simple entered "000-00-0000" for my SSN.

Anything we can do to encourage personal privacy and reduce gov't intrusion into areas where they have no domain (such as right to bear arms, or thinking that "social security" is in any way connected to carrying a firearm) is worth doing in my opinion.
 

Mike

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Joined
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Messages
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Location
Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
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The problem is that the previous TN AG already issued an opinion holding that a TN CHP was a "recreational" license - like defending life or exercising 2A rights is a "recreation," sheesh.

The AG then opined that the Federal Privacy prohibited publication of the SSN upon the face of the TN CHP - this is plainly wrong - the only part of the federal Privacy Act applicable to the states is Section 7 (controling federal, state, and local government elicitation of SSNs).

One way to attack this in TN is to point out that somebopdy could bring an action to force the TN State Police to print the SSNs upon the CHPs again as it is required by TN law and NOT precluded by the Federal Privacy ACt. This might push the new TN AG to opine that SSN disclosure is not required under Section 7, and allow the legislature to face savingly repeal the SSN publication requirement.
 
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