Image Credit: @GinoBulso / X
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
New legislation has been introduced for the upcoming general session that would allow private schools in Tennessee to create a policy for allowing handguns on campus.
House Bill 1631 (HB1631), sponsored by State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood-District 61), clarifies that “a private school serving students in any of the grades pre-K through 12 is authorized to adopt a handgun carry policy for the private school’s property.”
This is not Bulso’s first attempt at passing similar legislation.
He initially proposed a similar law during the 2023 session after the shooting at Covenant School. The amendment did not advance, although the Tennessee Attorney General’s office stated that private schools did have that option if it was adopted into law.
Bulso then filed the legislation again for the special summer session. While the bill was passed on first consideration in the House, the Senate did not pick it up.
Because bills from the summer session are not automatically carried over to the next general session, Bulso has filed the legislation again as the 2024 session gets underway.
Current Tennessee law does not allow firearms to be carried on public property.
If passed, the law would go into effect immediately.
7 Responses
Excellent. All schools should be hard targets and not soft targets.
Parents do not let your child’s school be turned into a soft target for criminals.
This is difficult. Yes we would want schools to be a hard target. But it would take extensive training and willingness to make teachers effective armed guards.
It would be more effective than hiring one guard. look how many times that idea has failed – including Parkland where the guard hid in the parking lot.
How valuable are our children? Seems like a small price to pay!
I know several teachers that are proficient with firearms and would readily agree to carry.
The only deterrent a potential school shooter would really think hard about is the knowledge that he would likely encounter armed personnel in said school that he was contemplating attacking.
These individuals have proven time and time again to be mentality unstable but they are not stupid.
They are highly motivated to succeed and hardening the schools would be a serious deterrent .
It is way past time for our law makers to back off making all these laws that only result in further restrictions on law abiding citizens while the criminal, mentally ill people ignore these restrictions.
This opinion is freely given by a retired police officer with many, many years experience in shootings of all types working in a major city over 25 years.
“For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do? Why for instance, should it be said, that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained, when no power is given by which restrictions may be imposed”?
“It has been said, that in the Federal Government they (Bill of Rights) are unnecessary, because the powers are enumerated and it follows that all that are not granted by the Constitution are retained, that the Constitution is a bill of powers, the great residuum being the rights of the people”.
Hamilton.
West Virginia State Board of Education v Barnette, 319 US 624, 638; 63 S Ct 1178; 87 L Ed 1628 (1943)
“The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One’s right to life, liberty and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no election.”
Miranda v Arizona, 384 US 436, 475 (1966)
“Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them.”
Miller v US, 230 Fed 486,489; “The claim and exercise of a Constitutional (guaranteed) right cannot be converted into a crime”.
Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 US 105: “No State shall convert a liberty into a privilege, license it, and charge a fee therefore.”
Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham Alabama, 373 US 262: “If the State converts a right (liberty) into a privilege, the citizen can ignore the license and fee and engage in the right (liberty) with impunity.”
Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers No. 29,
“Since the fear of the people was that the federal army would usurp the people’s liberty, it makes sense that the intent is for the people to be allowed to keep and bear arms at all times”.
Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
People argue about the “Legality” of Gun laws who’s very existence is a “Violation of law”.