MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - It's a debate that continues and could soon be on the plate for Tennessee lawmakers. Gun rights advocates who want the laws loosened were shot down last year, but that could change heading into elections.
Ashley Sanders says she has good reason to oppose the push for less restrictive gun laws. Nearly five years ago she rescued a woman who was shot while driving near Hollywood and Sam Cooper in Midtown Memphis.
"I saw a lot of blood and I saw a woman laying down on the ground with not a lot of help and she really wasn't responding to anything going on," she said.
Gun rights groups are pressing state lawmakers to get rid of the handgun permit, and allow concealed weapons in state parks, as well as on school and work parking lots.
Sanders hopes it doesn't happen.
"My background, where I'm from, I'm used to watching my back and hearing gunshots and being scared so I'm the person that's against weapons and I'm not for the state law and passing it."
But Bradley Leavett says that's why the state's gun laws should be changed, even if it means allowing law-abiding Tennesseans to carry concealed weapons with out a permit.
"Anyone who is going to break the law is just going to walk across the parking lot, walk into that state park regardless of what the laws are," he said. "This is a legal product, this is an item and right guaranteed by the 2nd amendment, so I do have some concerns with permits to conceal and carry; it's for personal protection."
In the meantime, what Ashley Sanders witnessed nearly five years ago is still with her today. It was the first time she saw the aftermath of a shooting and hopes it will be her last.
