TN Representative Tries Selling Cookies, Lemonade and an "AK-47" in Nashville

Don’t drink the Kool-Ai…,er, lemonade.

To demonstrate his belief that it’s just as easy to purchase an AK-47 as it is to buy lemonade in the State of Tennessee, Representative Mike Stewart, D-Nashville, did a bit of grandstanding when he set up a lemonade stand near the Nashville state Capitol Tuesday night.

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“It’s not often you see an AK-47 on the side of the street,” said Stewart, whose claim is right – and that includes this exact instance since the gun Stewart brought was NOT an AK-47, but a semi-automatic rifle.

The ignorant stunt was Stewart’s attempt to highlight House Bill 1319 which “as introduced, requires, subject to certain exemptions, a sale or transfer of a firearm to be done through a federally licensed gun dealer; creates a Class B misdemeanor offense for sales or transfers that are not conducted through a gun dealer.”

Currently, private gun sales in Tennessee do not require a background check.

Rep. Mike Stewart said purchasing a gun in Tennessee is the same way you would buy cookies or lemonade: in cash from a private individual with no background check.

Stewart said he found and purchased a gun from Armslist.com within a few hours on Tuesday. Stewart said he met the seller in a parking lot to exchange cash for the rifle and five high capacity magazines.

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As it’s well documented, it is not difficult for criminals or terrorists to obtain guns by simply ignoring laws and restrictions. Additional restrictive measures, such as HB 1319 serve only to put a further hindrance on law-abiding citizens.

Fortunately for the law-abiding gun owners, the bill failed to pass in the House on Wednesday. Rep. Stewart is safe to privately re-sell his “AK-47” without additional government regulation.

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