It is a defense to unlawful carrying if the possession or carrying was:

• Of an unloaded rifle, shotgun or handgun not concealed on or about the person and the ammunition for the weapon was not in the immediate vicinity of the person or weapon;

• By a person authorized by written directive and permit to carry handguns;

• At the person’s place of residence, place of business or premises;

• Incident to lawful hunting, trapping, fishing, camping, sport shooting or other lawful activity;

• By a person possessing a rifle or shotgun while engaged in the lawful protection of livestock from predatory animals;

• By a Tennessee Valley Authority officer who holds a valid commission from the Commissioner of Safety while such officer is in the performance of the officer’s official duties;

• By a state, county or municipal judge or any federal judge or magistrate;

• By an out-of-state, full-time, commissioned law enforcement officer who holds a valid commission card and photo identification from a state with a reciprocal agreement for law enforcement from Tennessee to carry in their state.  Carrying by law enforcement is prohibited without the commission card, the ID, and the reciprocal agreement.

A person will not be charged or convicted if the person possessed, displayed, or employed a handgun in justifiable self-defense or defense of another during the commission of a crime in which that person or other person defended was a victim.

The Department of Safety shall issue a permit to carry a handgun for a period of 8 years to a person who pays a fee of $115.

A person wishing to carry a handgun shall apply to the Department of Safety at any location where the department conducts driver license examinations. The applicant must be a resident of Tennessee and reached 21 years of age. The sheriff may charge a fee not to exceed five dollars ($5.00) for taking the applicant’s fingerprints. The department is required to take fingerprints and a photograph of the applicant. The applicant shall submit proof of successful completion of a handgun safety course. The department shall notify the Sheriff of the applicant’s county of residence in order to conduct a background investigation. The department shall issue a license to a qualified applicant within 90 days of the date the Department receives the application.

An applicant shall provide their full legal name and aliases; addresses for five years; date of birth; Social Security Number; and physical description on the application.  The application shall require the applicant to disclose and confirm, under oath, that the applicant :

• Is not prohibited by state or federal law from purchasing or possessing a firearm;

• Has not been convicted of an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year (not including anti-trust violations, unfair trade practices, or similar offenses related to business practices);

• Is not subject to an order of protection prohibiting the applicant from carrying or possessing a firearm;

• Is not a fugitive from justice;

• Is not an unlawful user of or addicted to alcohol or any controlled substance;

• Has not been a patient in a rehabilitation program or hospitalized for alcohol or controlled substance abuse or addiction within ten (10) years from the date of application;

• Has not been convicted of the offense of driving under the influence of an intoxicant in this or any state two (2) or more times within ten (10) years from the date of application and that none of such convictions has occurred within five (5) years from the date of application or renewal;

• Has not been adjudicated as a mental defective;

• Has not been committed to or hospitalized in a mental institution;

• Has not had a court appoint a conservator for the applicant by reason of a mental defect;

• Has not been judicially determined to be disabled by reason of mental illness, developmental disability or other mental incapacity;

• Has not, within seven (7) years from the date of application, been found by a court to pose an immediate substantial likelihood of serious harm because of mental illness;

• Is not an illegal alien;

• Has been convicted of domestic violence.

The following shall not be grounds for a license denial: any expunged records; a conviction set aside; a conviction for which civil rights have been restored, unless the conviction was for burglary, any felony offense involving violence or use of a firearm or any felony drug conviction involving a Schedule I, II, III, IV or V controlled substance, or a felony drug conviction involving Schedule VI controlled substance which occurred within ten years of the date of the license application.

The renewal fee is $50. An additional handgun safety course is not required to renew a license.  A permit holder has sixty days of any change of address to notify the department in writing of the permit holder’s new address.

A valid handgun permit or license issued in another state shall be valid in this state according to its terms if  the person carries a handgun only and the person is in possession of the permit at all times while carrying the handgun.

The commissioner of safety shall enter into written reciprocity agreements and publish and make available the list of states honoring and not honoring Tennessee permits. If another state imposes conditions on Tennessee permit holders in a reciprocity agreement, such conditions shall also become a part of the agreement and apply to the other state's permit holders when they carry a handgun in this state.

If a person with a handgun permit from another state decides to become a resident of Tennessee, such person must obtain a Tennessee handgun permit within six months of establishing residency in Tennessee.

A person with a valid handgun permit may not carry into some locations.  Restaurants serving alcohol may be entered only if the premises is not posted and the permittee is not consuming alcohol. A concealed handgun may not be carried: 

1. during judicial proceedings

2. school property

3. a portion of a public park owned or operated by a county, a municipality or instrumentality thereof while that portion of the park is in use by a school. 

4. airports, military institutions, and any other building/area prohibited by federal law.

This list is not all inclusive.  For additional information you should consult other official sources such as the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.  

A machine gun is defined as  any firearm that is capable of shooting more than two (2) shots automatically without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.

It is unlawful for any person to intentionally or knowingly manufacture, transport, possess, sell or repair a machine gun.  Defenses exempt the following:

• Performance of official duty for law enforcement or military;

• Activity reasonably related to lawful dramatic performance or scientific research;

• Display in a public museum or exhibition;

• When licensed by the State of Tennessee as a manufacturer, importer or dealer in weapons;

• Acquisition or possession by a person validly registered under the national firearms registration and transfer records.

TENN. CODE ANN. § 39-17-316 (2011)

§ 39-17-316. Sport shooting ranges; definitions; noise pollution or nuisance actions

(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) “Local unit of government” means a county, municipality, metropolitan government, or other entity of local government;

(2) “Person” means an individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation, club, or other legal entity; and

(3) “Sport shooting range” or “range” means an area designed and operated for the use of rifles, shotguns, pistols, silhouettes, skeet, trap, black powder, archery, or any other shooting activity.

(b)(1) A person who operates or uses a sport shooting range is not subject to civil or criminal liability for noise or noise pollution, nuisance or any other claim not involving physical injury to another human, resulting from the operation or use of the sport shooting range as a sport shooting range if the sport shooting range is in compliance with any applicable noise control laws, resolutions, ordinances or regulations issued by a unit of local government, that applied to the range at the time that the range began operation.

(2) A person or entity that operates or uses a sport shooting range is not subject to an action for nuisance, abatement, or any other type of action or proceeding which would have the effect of limiting, reducing, eliminating or enjoining the use or operation of the sport shooting range as a sport shooting range if the sport shooting range is in compliance with any applicable noise control laws, resolutions, ordinances or regulations issued by a unit of local government, that applied to the range and its operation at the time that the range began operation 

(3) A person who subsequently acquires title to or who owns real property adversely affected by the use of property with a sport shooting range shall not maintain any action against the owner of the range to restrain, enjoin, or impede the use of the range except to the extent allowed by this section.

(4) Rules or regulations adopted by any state department or agency for limiting levels of noise in terms of decibel level that may occur in the outdoor atmosphere shall not apply to a sport shooting range exempted from liability under this section.

(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, nothing in this section shall be construed to limit civil liability for compensatory damage arising from physical injury to another human, physical injury to tangible personal property, or physical injury to fixtures or structures placed on real property.

(c) To the extent that any sport shooting range has been issued permission, whether by special exception, variance, or otherwise, by any entity having zoning or zoning appeal authority to operate as a range, the right to operate as a range shall not be amended, restricted, or terminated due to a change of circumstances regarding the use of adjacent or surrounding properties. Further, with respect to any sport shooting range that is open to the public and was in continuous operation for at least thirty (30) years immediately preceding December 16, 2008, the right to operate as a shooting range shall not be amended, restricted or terminated due to any land use planning or zoning applicable to the shooting range's location if:

(1) The shooting positions operate no closer than:

(A) One hundred fifty feet (150') from any adjoining boundary line or county road that extends from the southeast corner to the southwest corner;

(B) One hundred eighty feet (180') from any adjoining boundary line that extends from the southwest corner to the northwest corner;

(C) One hundred eighty feet (180') from any adjoining boundary line that extends from the northwest corner to the northeast corner;

(D) One hundred eighty feet (180') from any adjoining boundary line or county road that extends from the northeast corner to the southeast corner; and

(E) One hundred eighty feet (180') from any adjoining residential property boundary line, notwithstanding subdivisions (c)(1)(A)-(D); and

(2) Any vegetation between the appropriate distance requirement described in subdivision (c)(1) and the adjoining boundary line or county road remains undisturbed.

(d) With respect to any range that is open to the public and that begins operation after July 1, 2004, and for which there are no local zoning resolutions, ordinances or regulations affecting its establishment as a sport shooting range as of the date it began operation, the range shall not be protected by the exemptions from nuisance actions contained herein until one (1) year after the date the sport shooting range begins operation.

It is a felony for any person or corporation to manufacture, sell, offer to sell, display for sale or use in this state any ammunition cartridge, metallic or otherwise, containing a bullet with a hollow-nose cavity which is filled with an explosive material and designed to detonate upon impact.

It is unlawful to carry a firearm into a judicial proceeding.

It is unlawful to possess or carry any firearm, with the intent to go armed, onto any school or college facility or grounds (to include a bus), unless used for instructional or sanctioned ceremonial purposes. This prohibition does not apply to military, law enforcement, penal personnel, pupils who are members of Reserve Officers Training Corps, pupils enrolled in a course of instruction or members of a club or team required to carry guns, or campus police officers while in the performance of their official duties. It is an affirmative defense if carrying on school or college facilities was incident to lawful and authorized hunting, was of an unloaded hunting weapon while traveling to the hunting facilities, was while conducting or attending an approved gun show, or while entering the property for the sole purpose of delivering or picking up passengers. 

 It is unlawful for any person over the age of eighteen, including parent or guardian, to know that a minor or student is in illegal possession of a firearm in or upon the premises of a public or private school, school’s athletic stadium, or other facility or building where school sponsored athletic events are conducted, or public park, playground or civic center, and such person, parent or guardian fails to prevent such possession or fails to report it to the appropriate school or law enforcement officials.

It is a misdemeanor for any person hunting big game with a bow and arrow to be in possession of any firearms or be accompanied in hunting by any person possessing firearms during the archery-only deer season.

Local regulations of firearms and ammunition are preempted by state regulation.

The lawful design, marketing, manufacture and sale of firearms do not constitute a nuisance and many such lawsuits against gun manufacturers, trade associations and dealers are reserved only to the state.