Tilman Goins (born April 10, 1977) is an American politician and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

who represented District 10 in the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

from 2013 to 2018.

Education

Goins is a graduate of Morristown-Hamblen High School West. He earned an AS in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

from

Walters State Community College Walters State Community College (abbreviated as WSCC, and commonly known as Walters State) is a public community college based in Morristown, Tennessee. It was founded in 1970 and is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The college was ...

and a BA in

international affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

, BS in

, and an

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mound ...

Public Finance Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics that assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achie ...

from

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

Elections

*2016 Goins was unopposed for the August 4, 2016 Republican Primary receiving 2,724 votes (100%), and was unopposed for the November 8, 2016 General election, winning with 15,374 votes (100%). *2014 Goins was unopposed for the August 7, 2014 Republican Primary receiving 4,569 votes (100%), and was unopposed for the November 4, 2014 General election, winning with 9,504 votes (100%). *2012 Goins challenged District 10 incumbent Representative Don Miller in the August 2, 2012 Republican Primary, winning with 2,586 votes (52.3%), and was unopposed for the November 6, 2012 General election, winning with 12,781 votes (100%). *2010 Goins won a county commission seat in Hamblen County's 4th district. Goins defeated Bobby Reinhardt, who had previously served on the commission for over 20 years.

Public Service

Goins was elected to a county commission seat in

Hamblen County Hamblen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,499. Its county seat and only incorporated city is Morristown. Hamblen County is the core county of the Morristown Metropolitan Sta ...

's 4th district in 2010 after narrowly defeating the 20-year incumbent, Bobby Reinhardt. However, after being elected into the TN House of Representatives in 2012, Goins resigned from his commission seat to focus on his state legislative duties. In 2012, Goins was elected to a seat in the

for District 10. Goins had challenged incumbent Representative Don Miller during the Republican Primary and won with 52% of the vote. After serving three terms in the

, Goins announced on February 20, 2018, that he would not seek reelection for a fourth term. Goins served as Deputy Commissioner and

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

of the

Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs The Tennessee Department of Veterans Services (TDVS) is the head of Tennessee's Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for veterans benefits programs within the state. The Commissioner is appointed by the governor of Tennessee and i ...

for two years under Governor Bill Lee.

Tennessee House of Representatives

Goins' political philosophy is one of personal liberty and limited government. As such, many of the bills sponsored by Goins focused on limiting government involvement in business and personal affairs.

Criminal Justice

A champion of criminal justice reform, Goins' legislative record includes passing legislation that dedicates criminal justice resources toward those that offended against others. Expanding electronic monitoring funding is an investment that Goins said allows jail space to be free of first-time, lower-level offenders who might be rehabilitated for those repeat violent offenders. Goins sponsored and passed several legislative efforts aimed at enhancing penalties for violent criminals while also making it easier for non-violent, low-level offenders to be reintroduced as productive members of society.

Second Amendment

Goins championed many

2nd Amendment The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms. It was ratified on December 15, 1791, along with nine other articles of the Bill of Rights. In ''District of Columbia v. Helle ...

initiatives while serving in the

. Goins sponsored and passed several bills to remove state level prohibitions on certain firearms restrictions while in office. * After the 2015 terrorist attacks against military personnel in

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, Goins sponsored legislation that would reduce the carry permit age of military personnel in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

to 18 if serving in the Armed Forces. As a result of the attacks, TN National Guard General Hastings began allowing permitted TN National Guard Members to carry a firearm while in uniform. Goins pointed out that 18-21 year olds made up a vast majority of Guard members, they all had some sort of firearms training in

Basic Training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...

, and therefore should not be excluded from General Hastings' decree. * Goins’ Tennessee Hearing Protection Act removed the state’s prohibition on firearm suppressors. * Goins wrote and passed legislation allowing private schools in

to determine their own policy as it pertains to firearms. During the controversial debates on rather or not teachers in colleges or K-12 schools should be able to carry a firearm for protection, Goins argued that at a minimum, the state should not be standing in the way of private schools' ability to decide for themselves. Like any business, the state had no jurisdiction over private school policies and so the commonsense gun measure passed overwhelmingly. * In 2014 Goins introduced a bill which would remove local government abilities to restrict carrying firearms in public parks. The bill failed in its first year, but the effort gained the support of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

and was passed in 2015. Goins was a co-sponsor and helped present the bill during its passage on the house floor. In 2022 Goins was vindicated in his efforts at securing citizens rights to bear arms in public places when the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled in the '' New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen'' case which affirmed the constitutionally protected right of individuals to keep and bear arms in public places.

Personal life

Goins is married with one child, named Tilman as well. Goins served in both the

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. Goins is a life member of

American Mensa Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organisation open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. Mensa formally compr ...

References

External links

Official page
at the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

Campaign siteTilman Goins
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Tilman Goins
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goins, Tilman 1977 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians East Tennessee State University alumni Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Mensans Morristown-Hamblen High School West alumni People from Morristown, Tennessee United States Army soldiers United States Marines Walters State Community College alumni