By Ahmad Dagher
NASHVILLE, TENNESEE––The Tennessee State Legislature passed a bill this Tuesday, April 23, allowing teachers and school staff to carry concealed handguns on schools.
The passage of the bill is perhaps one of the most controversial steps taken by the Republican House ever since the killing of six people in a school shooting at a Nashville school March of 2023.
The courtroom was charged, with protestors screaming objections, nearly drowning out the legal proceedings as they took place. House Speaker Cameron Sextion (R) kicked out at least one person out of the gallery.
The 68-28 vote marked yet another tumultuous moment in the debate over firearms and gun-control as it related to school safety. Lawmakers of both parties predict that Governor Bill Lee will sign and approve the bill.
Under the bill, the identities of school staff with guns is made known only to those who approve their carrying of a firearm. Parents will thus have no way to know whether their child is in a school or classroom where a teacher is carrying a gun.
Republican Senators and Representatives defended this clause, which only 4 states in the US have, as necessary to retain the “element of surprise.” The bill would deter shooters and provide “another line of defense that would possibly ward off school intruders,” said Republican Senator Paul Bailey.
And as Representative Ryan Williams emphasized, the choice was optional, with rural schools with fewer resources being the most likely to opt into the program. And regulations were built into the legislation, he noted: the local school district and law enforcement had to agree, and employees would be trained for 40 hours, pass a mental health evaluation, and an FBI background check.
But opponents argued that the bill would only allow for the possibility of accidents and misuse, and that its passage didn’t take the opinions of teachers and parents who didn’t want to see guns in an educational facility into mind.
And on a conceptual level, Democrats argued that decreasing, not increasing, the number of guns on campus is what will most effectively lead to less shootings.
“This is our reaction to students and teachers being murdered in a school?” asked Democrat Representative Bo Mitchell. “Our reaction is to throw more guns at it. What’s wrong with us?”
But some, like JC Browman, think the legislation is unlikely to have any practical effect for now, either positive or negative, because most educators were likely to balk from the idea of having firearms on campus.
Regardless, this marks a significant development in the state’s firearm policies. And it is unlikely to be the last, given the now seemingly fiery atmosphere present in Tennessee.
