A little after the first anniversary of a mass shooting that claimed six lives at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., a proposed law in the state that would allow teachers to carry firearms is inching closer to becoming reality.
Senators in the state passed Bill 1325 this week, and it’s now headed to the state’s House of Representatives. If passed there, it would go to the desk of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to be signed.
According to a bill summary, “present law generally makes it a Class E felony offense for a person to possess or carry, with the intent to go armed, a firearm not used solely for instructional or school-sanctioned ceremonial purposes, in any school building or bus, on any school campus, grounds, recreation area, athletic field or any other property owned, operated, or while in use by any board of education, school, college or university board of trustees, regents or directors for the administration of any public or private educational institution.”
Violations of the law are considered a Class B misdemeanor offense. If the new law passes teachers, principals and school personnel will have “the ability to carry concealed handguns on school grounds,” Action 5 News explained.
“As a student studying to be a teacher, I know that managing a classroom is already tough enough without adding a deadly weapon into the mix,” said Bobbi Sloan, a volunteer leader with Vanderbilt Students Demand Action chapter of the legislation in a statement issued this week. “For every gun that’s placed in a classroom, a new opportunity is created for students to become another statistic. This is not the solution. In fact, it’s absolutely absurd to respond to our cries for change with a bill that will only endanger us more.”
Data from Everytown, a group aimed at combating gun violence, shows that 34 states in the U.S. don’t allow teachers or the general public to carry guns in k-12 schools. School shootings often make headlines in the U.S., and one in Texas did just days after the Tennessee Senate passed 1325.
“This bill is completely permissive,” said Tennessee Sen. Paul Bailey (R-Sparta) of the bill in his state, per CNN. “It simply gives a faculty or staff member the option.”
CNN added that the legislation does not allow weapons to be carried openly or in stadiums, gymnasiums, or auditoriums during school-sponsored events. Firearms will also be prohibited in meetings where tenure or disciplinary matters are being discussed.