Tennessee House Republicans on Tuesday passed legislation to allow some trained teachers and school staff to carry handguns despite pleas from Democrats, students and gun-reform advocates to defeat the bill.
Dozens of protestors in the galleries began chanting “Blood on your hands” as soon as the legislation passed, prompting House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, to order state troopers to clear the galleries. Many protestors continued to chant and stomp down at lawmakers as the House floor fell into chaos over parliamentary issues.
Four Republicans ultimately crossed the aisle to join Democrats in voting against the bill, with another three abstaining from the vote. Still, the measure easily sailed through the House on a 68-28 vote and is all but guaranteed to become law within weeks, as Gov. Bill Lee can either sign it into law or allow it to become law without his signature. Lee has never vetoed a bill.
Armed teachers, who will be required to undergo training that some opponents have argued is not intensive enough, will be allowed to carry handguns in their classrooms and in most campus situations without informing parents and most of their colleagues they’re armed.
On Tuesday, Republicans rejected several Democratic attempts to amend the bill, including requiring teachers keep their handguns locked up except during a school security breach, holding teachers civilly liable for using their handgun on campus and informing parents when guns are on campus.
The passage of the bill comes a little more than a year since the Covenant School shooting in Nashville left six people dead, including three children. And Democrats on Tuesday were broadly critical of the bill, both skeptical it could effectively stop a school shooter and concerned about unintended consequences, such as a teacher leaving a gun unattended for a student to find or the use of increased force during in-school discipline issues.
