Tennessee Senate advances bill to allow teachers to carry guns

Republican lawmakers in Tennessee advanced a proposal Tuesday to allow some teachers to carry handguns on public school grounds, a move debated since a deadly shooting at a private elementary school last year.

After receiving a 26-5 Senate vote, the proposal is now ready for a House floor vote. The bill would bar disclosing which employees 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.

“I’m upset. My child is at risk under this bill,” said Democratic state Sen. London Lamar, holding her 8-month-old son. “This bill is dangerous and teachers don’t want it. Nobody wants it.”

Senate Speaker Randy McNally, a Republican, cleared the galleries after many protesters refused to quiet down even as he gaveled them down repeatedly for disruptions.

The heated debate comes about a year after a shooter indiscriminately opened fire last March at The Covenant School — a Christian institution in Nashville — and killed three children and three adults before being fatally shot by police.

Despite sweeping, coordinated efforts after the shooting to convince Tennessee’s Republican-dominant statehouse to enact significant gun control measures, lawmakers have largely balked at such calls. They’ve dismissed proposals on the topic by Democrats — and even one by the Republican governor — during regular annual sessions and a special session.

A handful of GOP supporters spoke in favor of the bill, pointing out 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.

A worker who wants to carry a handgun would need to have a handgun carry permit, have written authorization from both the school’s principal and local law enforcement, clear a background check and undergo 40 hours of handgun training.

Separately, Senate Republicans on Tuesday advanced an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution’s “right to keep, bear, and wear arms” that would broaden the right beyond defense and delete a section giving lawmakers the ability “to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.” If approved, that wouldn’t be on the ballot until 2026.



(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)