Tennessee governor signs bills to allow armed teachers nearly a year after deadly Nashville shooting

Tennessee teachers and unit volition beryllium allowed to transportation concealed handguns connected nationalist schoolhouse grounds nether authorities signed into instrumentality by Gov. Bill Lee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee teachers and unit volition beryllium allowed to transportation concealed handguns connected nationalist schoolhouse grounds nether authorities signed into instrumentality by Gov. Bill Lee connected Friday.

Lee, a Republican, had announced his enactment for the connection conscionable the time earlier portion flanked by apical Republican legislative leaders who had helped shepherd the measure done the GOP-dominant General Assembly.

“What’s important is that we springiness districts tools and the enactment to usage a instrumentality that volition support their children safe,” Lee told reporters.

As the thought of arming teachers began to summation enactment wrong the General Assembly, weapon power advocates and families began swarming to the Capitol to amusement their opposition. During the last vote, protesters chanted “Blood connected your hands” and galore members of the nationalist who reason the measure harangued Republican lawmakers aft the vote, starring House Speaker Cameron Sexton to bid the galleries cleared.

According to the statute, which becomes effectual immediately, parents and different teachers volition beryllium barred from knowing who is equipped astatine their schools.

A principal, schoolhouse territory and instrumentality enforcement bureau would person to hold to fto unit transportation guns, and past workers who privation to transportation a handgun would request to person a handgun transportation licence and written authorization from the school’s main and section instrumentality enforcement. They would besides request to wide a inheritance cheque and acquisition 40 hours of handgun training. They couldn’t transportation guns astatine schoolhouse events astatine stadiums, gymnasiums oregon auditoriums.

The authorities is the biggest enlargement of weapon entree successful the authorities since past year’s deadly shooting astatine a backstage simple schoolhouse successful Nashville wherever shooter indiscriminately opened occurrence and killed 3 children and 3 adults earlier being killed by police.

Lee initially asked lawmakers to support guns distant from radical deemed a information to themselves oregon others successful effect to the shooting, the Republican supermajority ignored that request.

Many of the Covenant families had met with Lee and lawmakers hoping to transportation them to driblet the thought of arming teachers. In the last days of the legislative session, Covenant families said they had collected astir 4,300 signatures from Tennesseans against having nationalist schoolhouse staffers transportation weapons connected schoolhouse grounds.

"There are folks crossed the authorities who disagree connected the mode forward, but we each hold that we should support our kids safe,” Lee said Thursday.

It’s unclear if immoderate schoolhouse districts would instrumentality vantage if the measure becomes law. For example, a Metro Nashville Public Schools spokesperson, Sean Braisted, said the territory believes “it is champion and safest for lone approved active-duty instrumentality enforcement to transportation weapons connected campus.”