Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville reversed and remanded a lower court decision Friday that upheld a Columbia Housing Authority gun ban.
The case was brought on behalf of Columbia Housing Authority resident Kinsley Braden, and was supported by the Second Amendment Foundation.
Judge Frank G. Clement, Jr. made clear that the reversal was a result of the Supreme Court of the United State’s decision in NYSPRA v. Bruen (2022).
Clement wrote, “(I)n light of the Supreme Court’s most recent decision in Bruenand keeping in mind the presumptively unconstitutional status of Columbia Housing’s policy based on the Supreme Court’s decision in Heller, we conclude that a total ban on the ability of law-abiding residents—like Mr. Braden—to possess a handgun within their public housing unit for the purpose of self-defense is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.”
He added, “Because Columbia Housing is a government entity acting as a landlord of property it owns, it must establish that its leasehold restrictions on firearms is ‘consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.’ The lower court was reversed and the case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the appeals court ruling.”
The Second Amendment Foundation’s Alan Gottlieb commented on the decision. “We’re delighted with the appeals court ruling,” he said. “This underscores the far-reaching effect of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen opinion. Mr. Braden was evicted from the public housing complex because he had a firearm. The court properly held that such a prohibition is a non-starter. Rulings like this make it clear the Second Amendment means what it says.”
The case is Columbia Housing & Redevelopment Corp. v. Kinsley Braden, No. 16922 in the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville.