The Tennessee Senate passed a bill on April 9 allowing teachers and school administrators to carry concealed firearms in public schools in the wake of the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville last year that killed six people.
Senate Speaker Randy McNally, a Republican, cleared the galleries after many protesters refused to quiet down even after he gaveled them down repeatedly for disruptions.
During the nearly 15-minute pause to remove the protesters and resume debate, they continued chanting, “Vote them out;” “No more silence, end gun violence,” and “Kill the bill, not the kids.”
The bill would allow faculty or staff members to carry a handgun at schools under certain conditions. They would need to obtain an enhanced handgun carry permit and written authorization from the school principal and local law enforcement.
Staff members seeking to carry a handgun on school grounds would have to undergo 40 hours of training specific to school policing, clear a background check, and be certified by a Tennessee-licensed healthcare provider.
The bill would bar disclosing which staff are carrying guns beyond school administrators and police, including to parents of students and even other teachers. A principal, school district, and law enforcement agency would have to agree to let staff carry guns.
Law enforcement agencies would also be immune from claims for monetary damages that arise from a staff member’s use of, or failure to use, a handgun “so long as the faculty or staff member is authorized to carry the handgun pursuant to this bill.”
The heated debate came about a year after a shooter indiscriminately opened fire last March at The Covenant School in Nashville. Three children and three adults were killed before police fatally shot the shooter.
Despite sweeping, coordinated efforts after the shooting to persuade Tennessee’s Republican-dominant statehouse to enact significant gun control measures, lawmakers have largely balked at such calls.
They dismissed proposals by Democrats and one by the Republican governor during regular annual sessions and a special session.
Only a handful of GOP supporters spoke in favor of the bill, taking time to stress that teachers would not be required to be armed or use their weapons in active shooter situations.
They argued that it could be particularly helpful in rural counties with limited law enforcement resources.
