‘This legislature is failing our schools’: Fallout follows passage of bill allowing armed teachers in Tennessee schools
“This legislature is failing our schools. They are failing our teachers, they are failing our kids. Our kids who stood outside here and begged, begged for us to take care of them.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Fallout ensued at the Tennessee Capitol on Tuesday afternoon following the House passing a bill that would allow teachers to be armed in schools.
The bill was lifted from the desk on Monday, then discussed and passed on Tuesday. It’s now headed to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk.
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HB1202/SB1325, if signed by Gov. Bill Lee, would allow people who work at schools to carry concealed guns on school property. Those who choose to do so must pass certain requirements first, including 40 hours of training and a background check. It was drafted as a way to help protect schools in rural counties that don’t have school resource officers or security.
WSMV4′s Marissa Sulek was in the gallery with dozens of parents, teachers and people opposing the legislation. The debate over the bill lasted for more than an hour before its passage.
First, Democrats brought forward more than a dozen amendments that would alter the bill — putting forward ideas to exclude certain counties, have parents know if their child’s teacher is carrying and ask questions about insurance coverage for employees. All of them failed.
During the debate, one teacher was removed from the gallery for shouting.
Representative Ryan Williams, a sponsor of the bill, said if anyone wants to be armed they have to go through many steps. He added that the General Assembly passed a similar bill in 2016 and 32 other states have similar laws in the books.
Representative Gary Hicks gave his two cents on the bill.
“I’m going to tell you I had some reservations on the bill. But now that we are putting it back on local control where it is closest to the governing bodies and closest to the people that’s why I would cast a yes vote for this.”
State Representative Gloria Johnson, member of the Tennessee Three, spoke out against the bill following its passage.
“This legislature is failing our schools. They are failing our teachers, they are failing our kids. Our kids who stood outside here and begged, begged for us to take care of them.”
Other members of the Tennessee Three, Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson joined the public outside of the House chamber following the vote to protest its passage as well.
Representative Bo Mitchell apologized to Covenant School parents in attendance.
“All this bill would do in your case, in your first comments, if in your district and you LEA chooses not to do this, that’s their ability to do that. That’s what permissivity is.”
Pastors, along with a chaplain at The Covenant School responded to the bill’s passage. They’re calling on Gov. Lee to veto the bill and condemned the legislature for passing it in the first place.
“All Tennessee children deserve the freedom to be safe from the fear of gun violence at school no matter which county they live in, the color of their skin, or the politics of their parents or teachers,” said Rev. Cherisna Jean-Marie, Founder of the Co-Conspirator Institute. “Yet, we just witnessed Tennessee State House Supermajority vote to arm teachers in our classrooms against the will of teachers, parents, students, and Student Resource Officers. We know that more guns on school campuses increases the chance for unintentional firings and other mishaps around our kids. I have worked with parents and families who have lost children due to gun violence and I know first hand if signed into law by Governor Lee this will cause trauma for children and families across Tennessee. We deserve elected leaders who value the lives of our children and families so today I’m calling on Tennesseeans across the state to use their voices and their votes to ensure that we elected leaders who actually support our values instead of the gun lobby.”
“All Tennesseans, no matter where we live in the state, deserve to be heard by our elected leaders and be safe at school,” stated Rev. Matthew Sullivan, Chaplain at The Covenant School. “Yet instead of listening to the thousands of parents, teachers, children, youth, pastors, and doctors who have consistently shown up to call for common sense gun reform that the majority of Tennesseans want, Speaker Cameron Sexton and the Supermajority Legislature instead just passed a bill that would allow teachers to carry guns in classrooms. I have lived through a school shooting just one year ago and I can tell you that having teachers in the buildings with guns would have only made the situation worse and more lives would have been lost. Teachers are called and trained to teach, not to be armed security. So I humbly ask Governor Lee to veto this bill and if he does not, I implore Tennesseans across the state to not give up and instead continue to build this intergenerational and multiracial movement to guarantee our freedom to be safe from gun violence not just at school but also in our communities. Together we will keep speaking up to ensure that our communities and children are free to live safely without fear of gun violence. Our children deserve it.”
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