Tennessee lawmakers join movement allowing some teachers to take guns into schools
Associated Press
Some public school teachers in Tennessee could gain new powers to carry concealed guns into the classroom, a year after a deadly school shooting in the state’s capital city stirred impassioned debate about the best ways to curb such violence.
The Republican-led Legislature in Tennessee gave final approval to the legislation Tuesday, just days after Republican governors in Iowa and Nebraska signed laws that also expand the potential for armed personnel in schools.
Tennessee lawmakers followed that up with another gun-rights measure Wednesday, giving final approval to legislation that would bar local extreme-risk-protection ordinances that allow guns to be removed from people judged to pose a threat to themselves or others.
Both bills head next to Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who pushed unsuccessfully last year for a statewide measure that would allow some version of extreme risk protection orders.
The legislative action highlights a national divide on public safety and gun policies, coming as Democratic-led legislatures in Colorado, Maine and Vermont all took steps toward imposing greater firearm restrictions.
Legislatures in about 20 states already have passed measures this year to expand gun rights or restrict access to firearms. Dozens more proposals are pending. The measures continue a trend from last year, when more than half the states enacted firearms legislation, with Democrats generally favoring more limits and Republicans more freedoms for gun owners.
GUNS IN TENNESSE
A little over a year ago, a shooter opened fire at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, killing three children and three adults before police killed him.
Tensions ran high as lawmakers debated a response, peaking as the Republican majority expelled two Black Democratic House members last year for their role in a protest supporting gun control. Both lawmakers were subsequently reinstated.
Protests also broke out Tuesday after lawmakers passed the latest school gun legislation.
A previous Tennessee law already allowed some private school teachers and sta to carry guns.
The new measure would expand that to public schools with several conditions. Teachers and sta would first have to obtain a permit to carry a handgun, which requires passing a background check, getting mental health clearance and completing 40 hours of training in basic school policing. They also would need written authorization from the school’s principal and local law enforcement. And they wouldn’t be able to take guns into school events at stadiums, gymnasiums or auditoriums.
The legislation was one of several pro-gun bills passed this year in Tennessee.
On Monday, Lee signed a bill expanding the private school gun provisions to preschools. On Tuesday, Lee signed legislation requiring schools to provide age-appropriate instruction on firearm safety. And he signed legislation Tuesday prohibiting financial institutions from requiring special tracking codes for retail firearm sales.
GUNS IN SCHOOLS
About half of the U.S. states allow teachers or other school employees with concealed carry permits to bring guns onto school property, according to the Giords Law Center, a gun control advocacy group.
About a half-dozen states have passed measures this year that could expand the ability of some people to bring guns into schools.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, signed legislation last Friday that creates new protections for teachers who carry guns in schools. A 2021 state law already allowed schools to authorize individuals to carry firearms, but some districts have been reluctant to embrace that because of concerns about insurance coverage.
The new Iowa law allows teachers and sta who undergo gun safety training to get a professional permit to carry guns in schools. If they do, they would be protected from criminal and civil liability for use of reasonable force.