Tennessee’s Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti just picked a fight with gun owners—and it’s not going unnoticed.

After a federal judge struck down two unconstitutional laws—one banning firearms in parks, the other criminalizing “intent to go armed”—Skrmetti and Governor Bill Lee filed an appeal. Their justification? Fearmongering. Skrmetti warned the ruling could allow “a ten-year-old bringing a semiautomatic rifle to a rec league basketball game.”

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about protecting kids. It’s about preserving government overreach.

The “intent to go armed” law has long been a weapon against lawful gun owners—punishing mindset, not action. It flips due process on its head and treats citizens as guilty until proven innocent. The court rightly struck it down. But instead of defending liberty, Tennessee’s top lawman is defending bad law.

Even conservative lawmakers are furious. Rep. Monty Fritts called the appeal “the most Constitutionally repugnant action committed in the past decade.” Gun Owners of America and the Tennessee Firearms Association are demanding the appeal be dropped immediately.

This is a moment of truth. When our own AG sides with anti-gun rhetoric over constitutional rights, it’s time to speak up.

ISAA stands with Tennesseans fighting back—and we call on every Idahoan to stay vigilant. If it can happen there, it can happen here.

Drop the appeal. Defend the Constitution. Stand with gun owners.