In a 26-5 vote, the Tennessee Senate passed Senate Bill 1325 on April 9 which authorizes public school faculty and staff to carry concealed handguns on school grounds if they complete annual training, undergo psychological evaluation and obtain an enhanced handgun carry permit. The bill, first introduced in January 2023, is expected to be on the state House of Representatives floor by next week.
This bill was passed amid vocal protests from roughly 200 gun reform advocates in the Senate gallery, as reported by The Tennessean. Some protesters in the gallery were parents of children attending The Covenant School, advocating for stricter gun policies just over one year after a shooting at the school.
Bill sponsor Sen. Paul Bailey (R–Sparta) explained on the Senate floor that the school director, principals and CSO officers of the school, in addition to the head of the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in the school’s area — but not parents — will be notified of which teachers are carrying handguns on the school’s premises.
Senior Lecturer in Sociology and former narcotics agent Laurie Woods called the bill an “incredibly foolish” idea that she believes will not solve problems for the schools this bill intends to benefit.
“The liability for the school district, school administrators and the teachers themselves cannot even be estimated,” Woods said in an email to The Hustler. “If a teacher shoots a student or other person, they can be personally sued. Any administrator who approves the use of guns and, of course, the school district will face serious liability.”
Woods also voiced concerns about the mental health effects the presence of handguns could have on teachers and their students.
“It is a matter of focus. The job of a teacher is to focus on the class,” Woods said. “That is a full-time job. Police officers are taught to always be on alert, often to the detriment of their relationship with the community, but even for them, shifting focus is difficult.”
Associate Professor of the Practice in Teaching and Learning Catherine McTamaney said she is not sure who the bill would benefit.
“Surely someone will [benefit], but it’s not teachers or students who are learning,” McTamaney said. “Even if you break it down party by party, at most you will find about 28% of the most conservative-leaning people supporting arming teachers in classrooms.”
Many Vanderbilt students have called for gun reform in the wake of the Covenant School shooting. McTamaney elaborated on the unique position of students to advocate for change in Nashville and beyond.
“Your generation is distinctly prepared to be able to speak about what it feels like to grow up in a policed-based school system and how it changes whether or not you feel like school is a place where your emotional needs are met, your social needs are met, your ability to become a whole person is met, or if it’s someplace that feels criminalized most of the time,” McTamaney said.
Sophomore Peyton Burns reflected on other possible solutions to school shootings instead of the produced Senate bill.
“Maybe we should find solutions to the root problem and stop making guns so accessible,” Burns said. “Maybe we should stop making teachers carry the burden of systematic flaws and instead address the system directly.”
Amid this news, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital announced on April 8 that they will install weapon detection devices at the vestibules on the first and second-floor entrances beginning April 18 in addition to the devices already in place at the emergency room entrance. Monroe Carell president Dr. Meg Rush told WSMV4 that the new system was created to prevent individuals from bringing firearms into patient care areas and medical facilities.
