Around 10:45 a.m. on July 16, 24-year-old Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez opened fire on a military recruiting station. He then went to a second military site where he killed four United States Marines. "Three other people, including a Marine Corps recruiter and a police officer, were wounded, according to law enforcement officials," according to The New York Times.

An act of terrorism such as this — and unfortunately several other recent episodes of gun-related violence — bring the issue of gun control into the spotlight. And Tennessee certainly has some interesting, and some very relaxed gun laws.

In 2009, a bill was passed that allow handguns in Tennessee bars and restaurants. Luckily, several bar and restaurant owners protested the law and said they wouldn't being allowing handguns in their establishments, regardless of the passing of the bill. And this isn't just Tennessee's problem: at the time this bill passed, 37 other states had similar laws.

A 2009 forum post cites an article from The Tennessean, which is no longer available, that it's popular (not to mention legal) for churchgoers to bring a firearm with them to their place of worship. Why one would need a gun in a place like that is beyond me.

Moving to more recently, in March 2015, a bill was (thankfully) shot down in Tennessee's House that would've allowed people to openly carry guns without permits.

According to the article, "In order to get a handgun permit in Tennessee, a person must be 21, pass a background check and take an eight-hour training course." That's not too much to ask of someone who wants to be able to posses a lethal weapon, but apparently it was deemed too much by some. Simply the fact that a bill encouraging extremely loose gun laws made it to the House is concerning.

In the same month, Tennessee hit 500,000 handgun permits. "There are 503,269 valid handgun permits in Tennessee as of Thursday, up from 488,911 as of Feb. 12," said an article from The Tennessean.

In April 2015, the Tennessee House passed a bill that makes it illegal to take a squirt gun — but not a real gun — within 150 feet of a school. Those without permits cannot take a gun within 1,000 feet of a school, however, those who have a permit from the state in which the school is located can take guns near school property.

And just a few weeks later, Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill that permits guns in park. The bill overrides any local government ban on people with handgun permits taking their guns into parks.

According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, 9.35 percent of Tennessee's adult population has a concealed carry permit, the fifth highest in the United States. More information and specifics about Tennessee's gun laws can be found here.