State Sen. Jimmy Kyle (D-Memphis) got an amendment to the "guns in parks and public places" bill to also allow guns in the State Capitol building [1], including the House and Senate chambers and the Legislative Plaza, where guns are currently prohibited.

Sounds reasonable to me. After all, CCW promoters keep telling us they are the safest, most law-abiding people in the whole state of Tennessee. If families in state parks would be safer with CCW guns around, so would our elected officials, right? What's the big deal?

Apparently it's a big deal to the bill's sponsor, Sen. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville). He withdrew his bill rather than allow it to pass with the amendment.

Money quote:

"I do not fear the permit holder. I trust that permit holder enough to have them up in that gallery," Kyle told colleagues, referring to a balcony area that overlooks the Senate floor.

"If we're going to be telling families visiting state parks that it's OK to carry a gun around them, it should be OK to carry a gun around us," said Kyle. "We set one standard for citizens, another for us. I'm tired of that."

Heh. Indeed.