Breeders protesting that Tennessee teachers can now carry concealed guns

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Tennessee Senate Republicans passed legislation Tuesday that would allow public K-12 teachers and school staff to carry concealed handguns on school grounds — despite vocal protests from Covenant School families, their supporters and others seeking stricter gun-control measures.

The measure passed in a 26-5 vote that fell along party lines. Discussion over the bill halted as a group of around 200 gun-reform advocates voiced their opposition in the Senate gallery. Several were holding signs, and the crowd reacted by snapping their fingers in support or hissing in dissent as Senators debated the bill. Some spoke out during the early parts of the discussion.

After repeated warnings about disruptions, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, called for state troopers to clear the gallery. He permitted a group of mothers of Covenant School students to stay, saying they had not caused a disruption.

Around 25 people initially refused to leave, drawing the attention of several troopers. Eventually troopers told those who remained they would be arrested if they did not leave.

"There is no reason for you all to go to jail," one told the group still in their seats.

As debate resumed on the bill, chants, cheering and shouts could be heard just outside the Senate chambers.
Covenant mom calls Senate's actions 'appalling'

Beth Gebhard, whose son and daughter attend the Covenant School in Nashville, said her children were there last spring as a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adult staff members. She watched the Senate proceedings Tuesday with tears in her eyes, alongside several other mothers of students at the school.

She staunchly opposes the bill. She said her children, 9-year-old Ava and 12-year-old Hudson, survived the shooting because of well-trained teachers and police officers doing their job. She can't imagine a teacher having to also deal with confronting a shooter, especially one armed with an assault-style rifle.

"A handgun will do nothing against that," she said. "If what had happened on March 27 had gone down the way that it did with a teacher armed with a handgun attempting to put the perpetrator out, my children would likely be dead."

She called the lawmakers "cowardly" for clearing the gallery.

"If they are supposed to be representative of our voice and they are dismissing these people … they are not for us and it is appalling," she said, holding back tears. "It’s so upsetting. It makes me want to move."

Melissa Alexander and Mary Joyce, both mothers of students who attend Covenant, huddled with Gebhard after the vote. A Capitol building staff member who spotted the trio brought by a box of tissues, earning grateful smiles.

"As mothers of survivors, all we can do is continue to show up and keep sharing our stories and hope that eventually they will listen to them and take our advice," Alexander said. "We have real experiences in these tragedies. We are the ones who have been there, experienced this and lived through the aftermath of it."

Alexander said they'd lobbied lawmakers in recent days to amend the bill as a “last-minute Hail Mary,” though both would have preferred to see the bill fail altogether.

"My child survived because the teacher kept the classroom quiet," Alexander said. "I’ve continued to tell that to all of the legislators."

They now plan to turn their attention to the House version in an attempt to make some headway. Alexander said they're deeply concerned parents could be kept in the dark about whether or not there is a firearm kept in their child's classroom.

"That’s a pretty difficult thing as a parent, not to know who your child is going to be around that's going to have a gun," Alexander said.

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What opponents, supporters say about allowing Tennessee teachers to carry guns

Democratic lawmakers, gun safety advocates, teachers and students alike have sounded the alarm over the idea of armed teachers.

On Tuesday, the loudest reaction from the gallery came when Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, the Senate sponsor of the bill, confirmed that teachers would not need to disclose that they are carrying guns. McNally ordered the gallery cleared after that outcry as people chanted: "Shame on you!"

"We won’t even know who is in the building with a gun," Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville said during the discussion. "That is going to create a great deal of anxiety for people. How can they teach under these conditions?"

According to the bill, those who wish to carry must first get an enhanced handgun carry permit and complete annual training with law enforcement. Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, questioned the limited nature of that training as he spoke in opposition to the bill Tuesday.

"We’re sending people to 40 hours of training ... to learn how to handle a combat situation that law enforcement officers have trouble dealing with," Yarbro said.

Others have said the burden it puts on teachers is too great.

"I do not think that it is the responsibility of teachers in our state, who have taken the oath to educate our children, to now become law enforcement officers," said Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, said during the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.

Students and other advocates have argued that allowing teachers to be armed also adds to the risk of disciplinary actions or conflicts with students and others escalating.

Bailey sees it differently.

According to him, a teacher or staff member who accidentally shoots someone on school grounds would be solely liable. But he also pointed to three elements in the bill that work to prevent that scenario: training for the person carrying the gun, along with a psychiatric evaluation, and a sign-off from local law enforcement.

"I think any aspect of what you’re saying would just not be," Bailey said after Yarbro pressed the issue of accidental shootings and liability.

According to the bill, the school district's director of schools, the school principal and the chief of the "appropriate" law enforcement agency must sign off on a staff member's authority to carry a concealed handgun. The bill appears to require this of each individual teacher seeking to carry a gun on campus, rather than allowing a joint blanket authorization for any qualified staff to carry.

Last week, Bailey said the bill would provide "another tool that can be used by those K-12 schools in the event that they're not capable of hiring (a school resource officer).” Nearly 600 public schools in Tennessee do not yet have school resource officers in place.

The bill was first introduced in January 2023. The debate over gun laws and school safety grew especially heated after the Covenant shooting.

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What's next for the bill

As of Tuesday, no action had been taken by the House on the companion version of the bill. The bill made it through committees in the last session before being punted, along with all other gun-related legislation, to the current session. House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, told The Tennessean last week that he thinks the bill is strong and well designed.

"I think it creates a path that someone will be well trained before they ever do (carry)," he said. "It's not ... like anybody can do it."

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LoveToLurk
I don’t think teachers should be expected to add firearms training to their ever growing list of responsibilities, but I found it interesting that one of the things the breeders objected to was not knowing which teachers would be carrying.

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kittehpeoples

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LoveToLurk
I don’t think teachers should be expected to add firearms training to their ever growing list of responsibilities, but I found it interesting that one of the things the breeders objected to was not knowing which teachers would be carrying.

Huh. First thing that occurred to me is those breeders are the kind who like to harangue teachers for not raising their kids right or for giving them the grades they deserve...and now they'll be concerned that if they're abusive, Teacher might be armed.

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mumofsixbirds
IDK but I just had a mental image of a bunch of really obnoxious students in a classroom making spitballs, passing notes, acting up all over the place, and a teacher drawing his weapon, pointing it at the little shits and saying, "Go ahead. Make my day."