Getty Images; Insider In the weeks before the Covenant school shooting, Tennessee lawmakers tried to loosen gun laws. Legislation moving through committees would lower the minimum age for carrying guns from 21 to 18. Tennessee's gun laws are already lax, allowing open carry of loaded handguns without a permit. Tennessee lawmakers were working to loosen gun control laws in the state in the weeks leading up to Monday's mass school shooting in Nashville.Legislation moving through General Assembly committees would lower the minimum age for carrying guns from 21 to 18, which is the minimum age to possess a handgun in the state.The House version of the bill would allow for the open or concealed carrying of any firearm, not just handguns.