News2A: We met you at the 2025 Tennessee Firearms Association and political action campaign fundraiser just a few days ago, where you announced your run for Tennessee governor. For those who may not know you, you’ve been serving as a Tennessee State Representative in the 32nd District since 2022.
Monty Fritts: Elected in 2022 and sworn in in 2023 for the 113th General Assembly.
News2A: There’s a full card for this race with a lot of household names throwing their hats in the ring.
MF: Yes, unfortunately, sometimes the household names are career politicians. Senator Blackburn is indeed a career politician. Often, the career politician is out of touch with the average Tennessean. I think that may be the case in this race. Even a few years in DC seems to ruin the small government logic approach and constitutional stance of many. The recent JBS assessment of thefreedomindex.org scores officer holders against two main precepts, constitutional adherence and small government approach. I have a 94 lifetime and a 100 in the past year while Ms. Blackburn scores a lifetime 68 and Mr. Rose a 73. Unfortunately, John Rose seen his score plummet in the past to 63 this past year. We cannot accept these failing scores on Constitution and small government principles. These scores indicate a failure to support our Bill of Rights, including the 2A.
News2A: Why are you running for Governor?
MF: I feel called to run for this office, applying to 7 million Tennesseans to serve as Governor. I really do not care to wear any new title nor spend more time in politics, but I am running to win and confident that I will become the next Governor of Tennessee. I reached this decision after months of prayer and consideration. It became evident to me that Almighty God had applied this calling to my life. I surrendered to this call, so here am I, send me.
News2A: What makes you stand out from the crowd?
MF: I am the non-establishment candidate for Tennessee Governor who has stood against the infringements upon our right to keep and bear as well as overreach from residual COVID-19 policies. I think our rights are Creator-endowed, as our Founders asserted and our Tennessee Republican Party Guiding Principles declare. I am an absolutist in my view of the Bill of Rights. While Senator Blackburn and Congressman Rose failed to stand against, or even speak against, the continuation of the National Firearms Act (NFA) during the OBBB deliberations, I have been attempting to address unconstitutional “intent to go armed” language in Tennessee as well as voicing opposition to Governor Lee extending an era of Jim Crow law designed to strip black men of their rights through his appeal of the Hughes v. Lee suit. Rose only responded after he realized his position was weak. Blackburn only asserts Bill Lee is doing a great job.
In summary, I am different in that I seek first the endorsement of the average people of Tennessee through constitutional compliance and obedience to the sovereignty of Almighty God. It appears to me that my competition seeks out think tanks and campaign managers to determine their statements and their votes.
News2A: What do you believe are the top issues that will frame this race?
MF: Liberty and Less Government are the issues. That includes a Tennessee budget that has grown by 59% in just six years under Bill Lee. An overcollection of public funds that are often redistributed on corporate welfare and many times used to suppress the rights of Tennesseans. Unfortunately, neither of my competitors will even acknowledge this. Perhaps too long in DC to establish any posture of fiscal conservatism?
1. Budget request must only include functions of government under the Constitution and no corporate welfare.
2. Nashville establishment must be recalibrated to understand they only work under the authorities granted them by the people through the Constitution. And each state employee, especially the most senior, must realize they work for Tennesseans rather than powerful out-of-state interests.
2A. Stopping the attempt to disarm Tennesseans at every intersection of time and place. The appeal of the Hughes v. Lee victory in Chancery Court indicates both a callousness toward the cultural impact of the appeal as well as the danger it introduces in Tennessee. Each time a person in Nashville who travels about with armed security attempts to further disarm the public, both their hypocrisy and foolishness are revealed. A disarmed public is vulnerable to predatory crime, in Memphis, Nashville, or any small town. Policies in Nashville to grant or deny permission to defend oneself only exacerbate the criminal rebellion we have ongoing in many failed blue-led cities in Tennessee. Why are my competitors not realizing this and calling out Governor Lee for his failure? Because they, in their DC mentality, think like he does. They live in safer areas or behind gates and guards and have forgotten about average Tennesseans.
2B. Removing gun-free zone placards from all Tennessee state-owned property. And then working with the legislature to bring accountability to local governments who likewise force the disarming of law-abiding citizens. These foolish Marxist policies have made Tennessee less safe.
3. Ending the unconstitutional voucher scam in Tennessee. A.11, S.12 does not permit such. It is socialistic in framework and fiscally irresponsible. We must respect parents enough to be honest with them and set much higher expectations for our system of free public schools.
4. Enforce geoengineering and weather modification law in Tennessee while seeking an audience with President Trump and federal leadership to bring this unacceptable set of practices to a halt. We are edging toward a monetization of rainfall and precipitation that cannot be allowed. And we must stand up for families and farmers by also recognizing the risks of over-vaccination of livestock, overuse of chemical compounds detrimental to our health, and labeling/prohibition of lab-grown meat-like products.
5. We must adopt continuous improvement in our election processes. Electronic voting machines carry potential and realized risks; we must stay ahead of the technological crimes. Voter ID, election day vs. season, and cleaning of voting roles must be of even greater priority.
6. Stop incentivizing illegal residency in Tennessee. Strong enforcement of crimes committed by illegals, hold those who traffic humans for profit accountable, and end funding of education for foreign citizens.
News2A: We’re a Second Amendment news site with a national readership, and our audience is primarily interested in your stand on Second Amendment issues. Your voting record speaks for itself, but can you share with our audience your thoughts on how those issues will shape this race?
MF: I am an absolutist in my views of the Bill of Rights. I suspect the other candidates will offer a less firm stance on our rights. I think the 2A is rooted in the first law of nature, self-preservation. And I think the 2A limits government from infringement upon that right so that the government cannot become tyrannical. All gun laws are an infringement and thereby unconstitutional.
News2A: Tennessee has made national headlines over the last couple of years as it relates to gun control. Most recently, Governor Bill Lee and his attorney general not only defended an anti-gun law known as the “intent to go armed” clause, but doubled down and appealed the Chancery Court’s ruling that overturned the law.
MF: The stench on the clothes of Bill Lee and the Nashville establishment will be long-lasting as they extend Jim Crow laws in Tennessee just to exercise unconstitutional control over the people. I requested the AG to advise Lee not to seek this appeal. I have led the charge on this usurpation of authority. The mere fact that these elitists who travel about with armed security would discourage average Tennesseans from exercising their Creator-endowed right is a constitutional apostasy. And they deploy and extend Jim Crow language to do so is abhorrent. The leadership in the House and Senate has likewise killed constitutional amendments to remove A.1, S.26 Jim Crow language. Racist is an overused term today in America and does not fit here, but out-of-touch elitist and perhaps tyrant does fit.
News2A: First, in your opinion, why are Republicans in a majority conservative state defending gun control?
MF: We have elected too many weak and compromised men. They are constitutionally illiterate and motivated only by who funds them in many cases.
News2A: Second, how will your administration handle this situation?
MF: End the appeal to Hughes v. Lee if ongoing at that time. Remove silly gun-free zone signs from all state-owned and managed properties by executive order. And I will advocate for the absolute right of Tennesseans to defend themselves and exercise their civil rights. I will use the bully pulpit if you will of the Governor’s office to call out those weak and unconstitutional legislators.
News2A: What other rights do you see overlapping with those enumerated in the Second Amendment?
MF: The 2A and A. 1, S.26 are the best leading indicators or litmus test of where a politician or public servant stands on all your rights.
News2A: You have a family history that goes back to service in the Revolutionary War. How has that lineage shaped your thoughts on the freedoms you are called to uphold in your oath to the Constitution?
MF: I am in lineage of a Fritts who fought in the War for Independence. I really think my views on the Constitution are simply from reading the document(s) and understanding both our history and the evil nature of many men who will act to oppress and rule over others. Unfortunately, we have a Governor and many politicians today who fit into that latter category.
News2A: Let’s talk about our veterans for a minute. You deployed to Iraq as a Non-Commissioned Officer, served as a Cavalry Scout, trained soldiers, and planned and executed more than 200 patrols. Veterans and their families serve this country for what often amounts to little more than a minimum wage equivalent. Yet they carry scars and trauma that can never be repaid. What is your plan to bring more awareness and support to this community?
MF: As our state budget requests have grown by 59% under Lee, the amounts budgeted for veterans have diminished. This is a sad but accurate indicator of the lack of respect shown our veterans by many in the Nashville establishment. The treatment of our TN National Guardsmen during COVID, being forced or coerced to accept unlawfully ordered jabs, is another unfortunate example of the Lee administration’s unconstitutional failures and lack of respect for service members. Naming bridges after the fallen and waving goodbye to them as we continue to deploy to undeclared wars is not a favorable look when one has not had the courage to serve. I fully support the Defend the Guard legislation and will continue to do so. Acquiescing to a threat of lost federal dollars by sending our Tennessee Volunteers into harm’s way without a declaration of war is not only unconstitutional, it is also cowardly.
News2A: How does your faith dictate your conduct in office as an elected representative?
MF: I am a born-again Christian. Our Constitution gives us the right to worship Almighty God, the God of the Bible. That relationship is the foundation for my actions.
News2A: Let’s talk about guns. What’s your favorite firearm to train with? What are one or two novelty firearms on your wishlist?
MF: I really like lever-action rifles and bolt-action rifles. My favorite handgun is an FN, and most commonly carry either a S&W or a Glock. Thank you for asking these questions and your work.
To learn more about Monty Fritts or to support his campaign for Governor of Tennessee financially, visit https://fritts4tn.com.
