Tennessee House Republicans pass bill allowing teachers to carry guns

Tennessee House Republicans on Tuesday passed legislation allowing some trained teachers and school staff to carry firearms despite pleas from Democrats, students and gun reform advocates to defeat the bill. law.

Dozens of protesters in the galleries began chanting “Blood on your hands” as soon as the legislation was passed, prompting House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crosville, to order state police to clear the galleries. Many protesters continued chanting and stomping on lawmakers as the House floor descended into chaos over parliamentary issues.

The bill is almost guaranteed to become law within weeks, as Governor Bill Lee can sign it or allow it to become law without his signature. Lee has never vetoed a bill.

Armed teachers, who will be required to undergo training that some opponents have argued is not intensive enough, will be allowed to carry firearms in their classrooms and in most situations on campus without informing parents. and most of his colleagues who are armed.

The school district’s chief of schools, the school principal, and the head of the “appropriate” law enforcement agency must approve a staff member’s authorization to carry a concealed weapon, so school administrators could, in theory, prevent that any teacher go armed to campus. The legislation also requires criminal and mental health background checks.

On Tuesday, Republicans rejected several Democratic attempts to amend the bill, including requiring teachers to keep their guns locked up except during a school security violation, holding teachers civilly liable for using their weapons on campus and reporting to parents when weapons are on campus.

Democrats on Tuesday widely criticized the bill, skeptical that it would effectively stop a school shooter and concerned about unintended consequences, such as a teacher leaving a gun unattended for a student to find or the use of greater force during discipline issues at school. .

“This is nothing more than a grave disaster and tragedy waiting to happen if we do not ensure personal accountability,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville. “The lives of our children are at stake.”

Republicans in favor of the measure have argued that trained staff can increase school safety, particularly in rural areas where law enforcement may have fewer staff and longer response times to remote communities. Last year, the General Assembly funded school resource officer positions in all Tennessee schools, with the ability for SROs to be armed. Staffing issues have complicated hiring for those positions, and nearly 600 schools do not have an SRO.

Sponsoring Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, said his bill was intended to protect students and act as a deterrent to potential threats to school safety. Williams also pointed to a previous 2016 law that allowed some school districts in “distressed” counties, an economic indicator set by the state, to opt into a teacher carry program, noting that this is unprecedented in Tennessee.

“As a parent of public school children, my children are older now and people ask me all the time: Have you done everything you can to make our schools safe across the state? I think this is the method by which we can do that,” Williams said.

Williams continually noted that the bill is “permissive,” meaning that no school would be required to allow guns on campus, although the bill appears to require administrators to consider each individual who wants to carry weapons, rather than issue a general policy for the school or district that opts out of the program.

“If they said that, they would be telling their entire community that the deterrent doesn’t exist there,” Williams said, going on to say that “gun-free” schools are areas where “people know they can go there and take advantage of the people”. “.

The bill, HB 1202/SB 1321, sparked vocal protests in the Senate earlier this month when parents of school shooting survivors, gun reform advocates and students lobbied hard against the bill. law. A Covenant School parent delivered a letter to the House on Monday with more than 5,300 signatures asking lawmakers to kill the bill.

Sarah Shoup Neumann’s letter criticized gaps in training and overloading teachers with the responsibility of confronting an attacker with a weapon while keeping an entire class safe.

Earlier this month, Covenant’s mother, Melissa Alexander, pleaded with senators to listen to parents whose children had survived a school shooting. Alexander and fellow Covenant mom Mary Joyce have repeatedly told lawmakers that their children were saved by teachers who kept their classes quiet and out of sight, and the couple questioned what would happen if a teacher were confronted by a shooter. schoolboy armed with greater firepower.

They also echoed widespread concern among bill opponents about the bill’s secrecy clause, which prohibits school administrators from revealing who is armed at school except to relevant authorities and school personnel responsible for campus security. Williams said the bill seeks to protect the identities of gun carriers to protect them from related “hiring and firing decisions.”

“I’ve heard many times about parental consent, that it’s the responsibility of parents to raise their children,” said Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, who called the bill “absolutely insane” on Tuesday. “I also think it’s a parent’s job to know if their child is at risk by having someone in the classroom with a firearm that another child might encounter, which could go off and harm them or other children.

Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, apologized to Covenant’s parents from the House floor while introducing an amendment. Sexton cut off Mitchell’s microphone at one point and told him he was off topic. Mitchell continued yelling in the House chamber.

“We haven’t done anything for you at all,” Mitchell said. “It’s shameful as a legislature that we bring more guns into schools and do nothing to save the lives of your children. I’m sorry.”

Opponents of the bill filled the Public House gallery Tuesday, holding signs that said things like “SHAME” and “1 Child > All Guns.”

Early in the debate, Sexton cracked down on vocal protesters and warned that he would clear the gallery if necessary. He later ordered police to remove a woman, Lauren Shipman-Dorrance, from the ticket gallery.

Shipman-Dorrance, a teacher and mother from Davidson County, has worked to advocate for gun reform for the past year. She said she became frustrated watching lawmakers chat, scroll on their phones and eat lunch on the House floor while the bill was being debated, prompting her to shout from the public gallery.

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Tennessee House Republicans pass bill allowing teachers to carry guns

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