I LIVE OUT IN THE COUNTY, SO SHE’S NOT MY MAYOR, but Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero says that Chilhowee Park isn’t a park, so the guns-in-parks law doesn’t apply:

State law states that someone with a gun carry permit can bring a weapon to a state or city park, if it’s not close to a school.

The Tennessee Valley Fair, however, is making it clear: No weapons will be allowed at the annual event, which begins Friday and runs through Sept. 20. The ban at Chilhowee Park will include permit-holders.

The city of Knoxville and the fair operators argue the law, which Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law in April, does not apply in the case of the fair. Despite the objection of some cities, including Knoxville, lawmakers chose to over-ride local bans to keep guns out of city parks.

According to the city, the park is an “entertainment and public assembly” facility to which the law doesn’t apply.

Besides being kind of cheesy, this is also indicative of an unwholesome prejudice. People with carry permits are very law abiding, and demonstrably less likely to shoot someone improperly than are cops. I suspect that Rogero, who’s a Democrat, is just playing politics here. I don’t know if a court would grant a TRO or not; she probably waited until the last moment with that in mind.

Just remember this when you hear that elected officials have to follow the law. In practice, they pick and choose.