On Friday, the governor signed a bill into law that will permit properly trained faculty and staff to carry firearms on school grounds. They will serve as immediate first responders in the event of a crisis.
The proposal cleared the General Assembly, and on Thursday Lee announced his support while surrounded by like-minded lawmakers. He explained to gathered journalists that it is critical that “we give districts tools and the option to use a tool that will keep their children safe.”
The memory of last year’s raucous and sometimes unlawful protests by gun control extremists was rehashed last week as the legislature considered the bill. Protesters filled the gallery and were eventually removed as they began verbally attacking leaders after the vote.
The new law took effect immediately.
Parents and other faculty members will not be told who is carrying at the school. Arming staff would need the approval of the principal, school district and law enforcement agency. Any worker who desires to protect the building’s occupants must have a handgun carry permit and written agreement from the administration and law enforcement.
The prospective armed faculty or staff must undergo a background check and successfully complete 40 hours of firearms training.
These guns would not be permitted at sporting events or auditoriums.
Approved carriers will be able to carry concealed weapons in the classroom.
Three children and three adults were killed by a shooter at the Covenant School in Nashville last year, setting off a firestorm of controversy and calls for better security.
Some of the pushback against arming teachers and staff came from the school’s parents, but Lee brushed this aside.
He remarked before signing the bill, “There are folks across the state who disagree on the way forward, but we all agree that we should keep our kids safe.”
The choice is left to each individual district. Nashville Public Schools already announced its opposition to implementing the system through spokesperson Sean Braisted. He said leaders believe “it is best and safest for only approved active-duty law enforcement to carry weapons on campus.”
The system was joined by those in Lebanon, Murfreesboro and Sumner County. Each informed parents that they do not intend to initiate the newly available program. That is their choice, and some cited security measures already in place that include armed resource officers who are members of local law enforcement.
But many districts do not have the resources and metropolitan law enforcement agencies to protect students in the same manner as Nashville. There are many rural areas where help may be several minutes away.
And supporters of the legislation correctly noted that participation is a matter of choice. The General Assembly and governor did not stipulate such a requirement and enact it from the top down across the state.
Instead, the choice was left to individual districts to assess their level of security and voluntarily determine if it needed enhancement.
The House sponsor of the bill, Rep. Ryan Williams (R) of Cookeville, expressed his concern over systems announcing that they will not arm teachers and staff. “If they did say that, they would be telling their entire community that the deterrent doesn’t exist there.”
Williams added that these so-called “gun-free” areas merely establish locations where “people know they can go there and take advantage of folks.”
The result of the new law will likely be to make a potential attacker think twice about targeting a particular school.
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