Tennessee
Sweetwater case heads to court as Tennessee lawmakers seek to clarify hunting rules
SWEETWATER, Tenn. — Two state lawmakers from our viewing area have introduced legislation they hope will benefit hunters in Tennessee.
The bill stems from a case out of Sweetwater that is currently headed to a court of appeals in East Tennessee.
Six hunters were cited in Sweetwater’s municipal court for discharging firearms inside city limits.
This is the property in the Sweetwater, Tenn. city limits involved in the court case expected to soon be under appeal by the East Tennessee Court of Appeals. Two Tennessee legislators have filed bills to clarify the law called into question by this case. (Photo courtesy Matthew Brown)
These hunters say they were hunting on private property.
New legislation would prevent cities, counties, or other small governments from regulating the harvest of game animals and the discharge of a firearm while lawfully hunting.
Tennessee State Representative Mark Cochran (R, District 23) says…
“We want to make sure that it’s very clear that when it comes to hunting, the state regulates that.”
Rep. Cochran says the new bill he’s sponsoring will create more transparency about who has the final say about hunting laws.
FILE – Kenn Jones, from Indiana, spends most of his time in South Dakota pursuing trophy bucks with his bow and arrow. But he took off one morning to accompany Simms on a duck hunt and be his “retriever.” (Photo: Richard Simms)
In 2013, the Tennessee Attorney General wrote an opinion saying that local authorities cannot prohibit activities approved d by the state… like the use of a firearm.
“So this law is really just clarifying that when it comes to actually governing hunting, regulating hunting that that is done by the state, by TWRA, not not by local governments,” Rep. Cochran says.
The Sweetwater case that inspired this new bill cited a city law for using a fire arm in city limits.
NewsChannel 9’s Outdoor Contributor Richard Simms says…
“In this particular case, in Sweetwater, Tennessee, the authorities felt that these hunters had overstepped the bounds, and they cited them.”
The City of Sweetwater told us that they cited the hunters because they were hunting not far from a local school and neighborhood.
But Simms says this isn’t just a Southeast Tennessee issue.
The Woodstock Bayou Hunting Club openly advertises that is located inside the Memphis city limits in hopes of attracting members. (Screen grab via outdoorproperties.com)
“You know, we mentioned that there’s hunting clubs in Memphis that specifically say, ‘hey, we’re inside the city limits.’”
Matthew Rogers is representing one of the hunters in the case. Even though it won’t affect his client, he says it’s a step in the right direction.
“We think the State law trumps the city ordinance, and we’re proud that our local legislators are moving forward with this new bill to either make a new law or to bring clarity to what we’re already arguing.”
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We reached out to the TWRA regarding this new bill. They told us they look forward to working with the General Assembly on any legislation that effects hunters.