One of Tennessee's most influential gun lobbyists has told News Channel 5 Nashville that citizens have the "right" to violently overthrow their government.
During the interview, journalist Phil Williams asked gun rights activist John Harris, who regularly lobbies state lawmakers against enacting any gun restrictions, about incendiary memes he had posted on Facebook, including one that suggested conservatives give up on voting and instead "take a road trip to Nashville" to fix problems with the Tennessee state government.
"You think that Tennesseans may one day need to take up arms and come to the state Capitol and overthrow state government?" Williams asked him.
"Well, the state constitution specifically says that is their right," he said.
Harris also posted a meme that encouraged a "rebellion" against former President Barack Obama, which Harris hastened to note that "I don't say that I am for it or against" such a rebellion.
"You didn't condemn it, though," Williams pressed.
"No," Harris acknowledged.
Tennessee has been roiled by a debate over guns ever since a mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville that led to the death of three adults and three children.
When asked about the demonstrations by students in favor of stricter gun safety standards in the wake of the shooting, Harris dismissed the young protesters as "props."
