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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Legislation that authorizes Tennessee teachers to carry handguns on campus has been signed by Governor Bill Lee and given a public chapter number, but no school district has expressed that they are on board with the policy change.
The law was created to provide an additional means of protection in schools, particularly rural school districts that may have a harder time finding a school resource officer.
Teachers and staff would be allowed to carry concealed handguns on campus if they meet the following requirements:
• Hold a valid Tennessee handgun carry permit
• Undergo a background check and submit two sets of fingerprints to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
• Undergo a psychological or psychiatric certification from a licensed healthcare provider
• Complete 40 hours of basic training in school policing
• Receive permission from the director of schools, the school principal and the chief of the “appropriate” law enforcement agency
As written, the law allows school districts to decide whether permission will be granted to teachers.
In a previous article, it was reported that several school districts had already made statements confirming that they will not be allowing teachers to be armed on campus. Those districts include Franklin Special School District, Hamilton County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Murfreesboro City Schools, Shelby County Schools, and Sumner County Schools.
Since then, Anderson County Schools, Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools, Cleveland City Schools, Jackson-Madison County Schools, Knox County Schools, Maryville City Schools, Oak Ridge Schools, Putnam County Schools, Robertson County Schools, Rutherford County Schools, and Williamson County Schools have also spoke out stating either that their districts would not be arming teachers or that they did not feel it was in their district’s best interest to do so.
According to Anderson County’s statement, “We firmly believe that the role of our educators is to focus on teaching and providing a nurturing environment for learning. By shouldering the responsibility of concealed carry, we fear that this could detract from their primary duty and could potentially introduce unnecessary risks into the educational setting.”
Other districts echoed this sentiment.
“As Director of Schools, I do not see blurring the line between education and law enforcement,” said the director of Robertson County Schools.
“While the intention behind this decision may stem from a desire to enhance safety, I firmly believe that introducing firearms into our teachers/staff poses significant risks and challenges,” Jackson-Madison County Schools Superintendent Marlon King said in their statement. “Our primary focus should always be on providing a nurturing and conducive learning environment where every individual feels safe and supported.”
King continued, “In light of this, I want to reassure you that our district remains committed to prioritizing safety through proactive measures and collaboration with law enforcement agencies… We feel that we have an incredibly strong plan in place to support school safety.”
Some law enforcement officers have expressed concern that teachers carrying guns and using them in the event of a shooting situation could end with tragic results as they are trained to respond to the sounds of gunfire and could end up retaliating against an educator with an allowed gun rather than an active shooter.
No Tennessee school district has announced plans at this time to allow teachers to carry a concealed weapon if they choose to. It has been reported that Sevier County Schools and Union County Schools have noted that they have not yet made a decision.
The law went into effect immediately after it was signed by Governor Lee.
8 Responses
I believe Carter county TN is on board and will issue licenses. Are you able to double check that information? It was on local news while it was still being debated. Thanks!
Personally, I have no problem allowing school districts and counties to choose their policy. They should also assume some level of responsibility for their decisions. But if they truly represent the will of the people in their district, I believe the law is a good law. The same goes the other way. If they choose to do it, they need to be able to do it legally and safely for their district. I support the freedom to choose.
Congratulations to these virtue signaling districts for neutralizing the deterrent effect of the unknown. The strong likelihood is few teachers would choose to undergo the rigorous training and intrusive vetting that would be required to carry at a school. However, with this law allowing teachers to carry, a potential school shooter wouldn’t know whether or not there were armed teachers at their target school. With these pronouncements, a shooter knows the target is vulnerable. Who argued for this poison pill to be included in the legislation? Seems they either didn’t consider this very salient issue or purposefully wanted to negate the law’s intended deterrent effect.
This shows us who the Libs and RINO’s are, as well as who lacks analytical ability.
I did research and a teacher has NEVER killed a student.
If a teacher wanted to, they could easily sneak in a gun, a knife or poison.
The SRO failed in Parkland (he hid in the parking lot) and at Uvalde, 6 armed officers were in the building but did NOTHING to stop the murders.
These misguided school districts are making it LESS SAFE because a deranged killer will know who to watch for.
I think some of the Sheriff’s oppose it because they want the money to pay for SRO’s.
I support law enforcement but not bad decisions.
Well if and when a deranged person goes on a KILLING spree in their school the BLOOD will be on their Hands. Stupidity never stops even when the bodies stack up.
Mentally ill people only go to “NO GUN ZONES”. They are mentally ill, but they know enough to check to see if the place has possibility of GUNS.
They are cowards, but mentally ill.
By coming out and telling the world that your county is not going to allow teachers to carry guns, you have told the world to cone to your schools to perform a shooting event.
Stupid school administrators kissing up to the ones who harm children!
If I had a child in school and was concerned about school shootings, this is THE ONE policy that can nearly guarantee that a predator will not make an attempt at a school with POTENTIALLY armed teachers and staff. The jurisdictions that have virtuously announced that they will not take advantage of the policy are letting the predators know that they want to remain a soft target. This policy has a long history of safety and efficacy in Texas, Florida, and Israel.