Tennessee teachers would be allowed to carry concealed handguns at K-12 schools under a bill just passed by the state Senate

(CNN) — “Kill the bill, not the kids!”

That’s what opponents chanted in the Tennessee state Senate gallery Tuesday as lawmakers debated before passing a bill that would allow teachers and staff in K-12 public schools to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds.

The state Senate passed SB 1325 in a 26-5 vote as noisy, sign-waving opponents urged its demise and just over a year after a fatal shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville where three 9-year-olds and three adults were killed.

The measure would require approval by the state House before moving to the desk of Republican Gov. Bill Lee, whose office did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. 

The bill puts the nationwide debate over arming educators back in the spotlight as mass shootings continue not only in American schools but at parades, festivals, places of worship and more. Gun violence is the leading killer of children in the United States – so far, 371 children under 18 have been killed in gun violence this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.

Thirty-four states bar teachers and the general public from carrying guns in K-12 schools, according to data from Everytown for Gun Safety.

As approved by its upper legislative chamber, the Tennessee bill would allow school staff to carry a firearm if they comply with these requirements:

• Get an enhanced carry permit
• Get written authorization from the superintendent, principal and the chief of the appropriate law enforcement agency
• Complete 40 hours of basic training in school policing and 40 hours of Peace Officer’s Standards and Training commission-approved training that is specific to school policing each year at the educator’s expense
• Complete a background check
• Undergo a psychological exam conducted by a Tennessee licensed health care provider

Under the bill, parents would not necessarily know or be notified if their child’s teacher were armed – a point of contention for many opponents who packed the state Senate chamber Tuesday and for Democratic state Sen. Raumesh Akbari, who pressed the matter of transparency.

“A teacher is not allowed to put a rainbow flag on her desk, but she’s allowed to carry a gun in this state,” Akbari said on the floor before voting against the bill.

Bill co-sponsor Republican state Sen. Paul Bailey said there is “a lot of misinformation” about the legislation, which “does not require any teacher in this state to carry a gun while working.”

“This bill is completely permissive,” he said before the vote. “It simply gives a faculty or staff member the option.”

The bill does not, however, allow weapons to be carried openly “or in any other manner in which the handgun is visible to ordinary observation,” and does not allow handguns to be carried in “stadiums, gymnasiums, or auditoriums when school-sponsored events are in progress,” nor in meetings where tenure or disciplinary matters are being discussed.

Gun debate roils anew in Volunteer State

At least some of the nearly 200 gun control advocates who entered the Senate floor session were already on edge, The Tennessean reported.

While Lee last year signed an executive order to strengthen background checks for gun purchases, other significant gun control legislation in the past year was largely ignored.

Meanwhile, the companion bill to the one the state Senate approved Tuesday had stalled in the state House last year after the expulsion of two Black lawmakers for advocating for gun control reforms on the House floor; both were quickly reinstated.

After a handful of interruptions from the state Senate chamber crowd and warnings from Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally to minimize outbursts, state troopers were asked to clear the gallery of all observers except the mothers of students at The Covenant School – where last year’s fatal shooting unfolded – whom McNally said had not caused a disruption, The Tennessean reported.

The noise, coupled with law enforcement rushing into the gallery, triggered an episode of PTSD for Covenant mom Sarah Shoop Neumann, rooted in her experience with last year’s school shooting, she told CNN affiliate WTVF.

“It shows another example of not hearing those in Tennessee,” Neumann said. “I sit silently. I do as they ask as many others did. It’s unfair to clear a room of everyone because you’re unhappy with their belief system.”

Democratic state Sen. London Lamar held her infant son as she spoke on the House floor in opposition to the bill, repeatedly pleading with lawmakers to use “common sense” in weighing the efficacy of the legislation.

“We are literally talking about arming educators, who took an oath to teach our kids writing and arithmetic … and we’re now turning them into law enforcement agents,” Lamar said.

Republican state Sen. Ken Yager, who spoke in support of the bill, said though the subject is “emotionally charged,” rural counties like the ones he represents often have only two deputies on shift. He said the bill would fix any delay in law enforcement’s response time to gunfire on campus.

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