  We introduce a new local symmetry into the fermion sector of a gauge
invariant Lagrangian which may or may not contain a scalar or spontaneous
symmetry breaking. The Standard Model in the unitary gauge and QCD are
particular cases where this symmetry may apply. We determine the associated
vector and axial vector currents and their conservation laws. We show that a
single current conservation law may lead to multiple Ward-Takahashi identities.
Our results can potentially have important consequences for effective models of
low-energy QCD and hadron structure. As an specific example, we discuss the
construction of tetraquark states within a generalized linear sigma model and
show that this new symmetry probes the tetraquarks in a manner that is
consistent with the large $N_c$ limit of QCD.
