Visitors to downtown Franklin over the weekend may have seen some men dressed in military colors carrying long guns walking in downtown Franklin and in front of Frothy Monkey.
Frothy Monkey posted on Instagram that many people have reached out to them regarding photos of these men taken in front of the coffee shop.
In a social media post, they stated, “Thank you to everyone who has reached out today to check on us regarding the photos of armed people taken in front of our Franklin location that have been circulating online.”
Continuing, “We are not associated with those individuals and were as surprised as you are that these folks showed up at our doorstep. Our staff handled themselves brilliantly, had a brief, peaceful interaction with them on our porch and, because being approached by heavily armed people is out of the ordinary, we also called the police out of caution.”
We contacted City of Franklin Police Chief Faulkner, about the incident and she stated, “Franklin Officers located these two individuals Sunday and talked to them. They left the area soon thereafter. They indicated that they wanted to express their Second Amendment rights. Per Tennessee State law, they can carry long guns as long as they are not loaded.”
On July 1, 2021, a new law went into effect allowing for both open and concealed carrying of handguns by some Tennessee residents. The law applies to most adults 21 and older and military members between 18 and 20 to carry open or concealed handguns without a permit. This bill does not apply to long guns.
As described on capitol.tn.gov, “As enacted, creates an exception to the offense of unlawful carrying of a firearm, if a person meets age requirements, lawfully possesses the handgun, and is in a place that the person is lawfully present; revises other firearm statutes.
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I can’t imagine a lot of tourists will want to visit a town where armed and uniformed hillbillies are free to strut around town waving menacing weapons. We’d better decide whether we want the tourist dollars or the insecure little incels because I doubt that we can have both.
Is Franklin bigger than Austin, Dallas or San Antonio TX? NO. Open carry is allowed in those cities and they are no hillbillies either. I don’t open carry but if others want to exercise that right go at it.
I hate guns but it is their 2nd amendment right and must be respected. I’m sure they had cameras and were looking for someone to challenge them on the law.
The new law as of July 1, 2021 does not include long guns.
If the police talked to them but didn’t arrest them, were they breaking the law?
No
I myself have a carry permit have had it for several years and 1 thing you should have if your going to carry is common sense seems like a lot of that has been lacking lately. If you carry a weapon openly all it does is puts a target on your back or ask for confrontation. A long gun should never have to be carried in public period. USE YOUR BRAIN PEOPLE
What are “military colors”?
First I resent the comment about hillbillies. Where were these goober from? Having lived 20 years in Franklin I watched as the natives moved out. TN has become more “conservative” and more dangerous. Our TN forefathers knew what they were doing when they passed “intent to go armed” laws and effectively disarmed everyone. Why the hell do you need to carry a long gun or concealed handgun to the middle of Franklin?
Even if isn’t the brightest thing to do. Because you can.
Why do people ask about “need?” Well obviously, there isn’t a need in this case. Read 2A.
In response to y’all. Everybody everybody should have the right to carry a gun. There is no special law for a long rifle. It falls under the second amendment. They were not waving the weapons in the air. They were sitting there having a hamburger. They could have come from a gun range. It’s incorrect to say that they were on some sort of a rampage waving their guns around only people who illegally carry guns wave them all around. I personally have a gun permit and I would much rather be in a place where I see that there is gun protection. Then no protection should in a situation arise like a mall shooting, a theater shooting, a church shooting or a school shooting as we all have seen in the last year. .
Agree 100%
Someone really needs to explain what the Second Amendment actually means to these people or the amendment needs to be expanded to explain how it applies to our current society. We have the National Guard for our “well regulated militia.”
I’m sick of ignorant people using their own interpretation of freedom to mean they can do anything they want anytime they want, anywhere. And businesses – make no mistake, if I ever see people walking around in your establishment with guns, I will never be back.
I think you are the “ignorant” one. National Guard didn’t exist until 1903. The 2A meant just us regular people.
I wear a gun all of the time. Including Frothy Monkey. You’ll never know it unless I need to defend myself or even your dumb rearend from death or serious bodily harm.
At least they weren’t in drag. Can you imagine the ruckus?