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Guns-in-Bars Sponsor, Rep. Curry Todd, Caught Drunk with Loaded Gun, Police Say


Curry Todd's mug shot


Curry Todd in happier times

Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 9:10 AM

Rep. Curry Todd, the champion of Tennessee's guns-in-bars law, was jailed last night and charged with drunken driving and possession of a handgun while under the influence.

Todd, R-Collierville, was stopped in his GMC Envoy at around 11:15 last night near 21st Avenue and Blair Street in west Nashville. He failed a roadside sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer. Police say they detected a strong odor of alcohol on the legislator and found a loaded Smith & Wesson 38 Special in his car.

A police affidavit says [ http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/tenn-gun-bill-sponsor-faces-dui-firearm-charges-14720733 ] Todd was unsteady on his feet, "almost falling down at times," his speech was slurred and he had watery and bloodshot eyes. Todd was "obviously very impaired and not in any condition to be carrying a loaded handgun," police say.

Possession of a weapon while under the influence is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a sentence of up to one year and a $2,500 fine. Todd had a handgun carry permit. That could be suspended for up to three years.

At the website forum [ http://www.tfaonline.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=3846 ] of the Tennessee Firearms Association, one of the main groups that lobbied for guns-in-bars, members have been understandably quiet so far today. But someone did post, "THANKS CURRY FOR THE BAD PUBLICITY."

We can only assume Todd had been drinking in a restaurant or bar. Did he bring his handgun with him? Drinking with your gun—that's something the lawmaker told us repeatedly during the guns-in-bars debate that no responsible handgun owner ever would do. In fact, it's prohibited under the guns-in-bars law. According to Todd, that law was only to let law-abiding (sober) citizens carry their licensed weapons into family restaurants to protect all the patrons against any would-be robbers or other armed assailants.

“Folks were being robbed, assaulted — it was becoming an issue of personal safety,” Todd said at the time [ http://www.fairwarning.org/2010/10/as-gun-rights-expand-some-states-allow-loaded-weapons-in-bars/ ], adding that the National Rifle Association had helped his legislative efforts. We're sure everyone felt safer with the bleary eyed Todd there with them last night.

In urging the House [ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2529120/posts ] to pass his law, Todd said: "I just ask you to vote your conscience to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families."

Todd is chairman of the House State and Local Government Committee. There's no word yet on whether House Speaker Beth Harwell will remove him as chairman. You might recall it was Todd who last year compared pregnant undocumented workers to breeding rats during a public hearing on prenatal health care.

Todd, who is state chairman of the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council and on the group's national board of directors, was one of Harwell's biggest supporters when she won the speakership last year. After her election, she dismissed his rat remark and re-named him chairman of the committee.

"I think that’s a statement that Rep. Todd has publicly apologized for, and I think that’s an issue that is now in the past,” Harwell told reporters then [ http://www.state-politics.com/south/beth-harwell-stands-by-curry-todd-after-rat-remark/ ].

Here's the YouTube of Todd making his charming rats remark [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE237g7KI8Y ]:

And while we're walking down memory lane with Curry Todd, who could forget how he accused the news media of sensationalism for reporting that his guns-in-bars law would allow guns in bars. As the legislature was overriding Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto of the bill, Todd mocked his hometown newspaper [ http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/legislators-resent-media-mockery-of-their-guns-galore-campaign/Content?oid=1201404 ] as "the Comical Appeal."

© 2011 City Press LLC

http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2011/10/12/guns-in-bars-sponsor-rep-curry-todd-caught-drunk-with-loaded-gun [with comments]