Protesters threw the Tennessee House of Representatives into chaos after passing a controversial bill to allow teachers to carry concealed handguns.
Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that would allow teachers and other staff members at schools in the state to carry concealed handguns, according to the New York Times.
If signed into law, the bill would require teachers and staff members carrying guns to go through the necessary training and to receive approval from the principal and school administrators. Parents, however, would not be notified.
The bill’s passage comes a year after three students and three staff members were left dead after a shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville.
After the bill’s passage, protesters expressed their disapproval of the bill from the House gallery as they shouted, “Blood on your hands.”
It’s chaos in the House as protesters have derailed session.
Representatives all over the floor, Democrats and Republicans going after each other for breaking rules, etc.@WKRN #TNLeg24 pic.twitter.com/3KiPI80q5z
— Chris O’Brien (@THEChrisOB) April 23, 2024
“We are not trying to shoot a student but protect a student from an active shooter whose sole purpose is to get in that school and kill people,” Tennessee state Sen. Ken Yager (R) said.
In addition to receiving criticism from people sitting in the House gallery, those who opposed the bill flooded the hallways of the Tennessee Capitol with signs that read, “Kids Deserve More!” and, “Have You Lost You Ever-Loving Minds?”
Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones (D) posted a video to X, showing the protesters chanting, “Blood on your hands,” after his Republican colleagues had “cut off debate” and passed the bill.
“Tennessee Republicans just cut off debate and passed a bill to arm teachers in our schools,” Jones wrote. “The public chanted, ‘Blood on your hands!” as the Speaker ordered troopers to clear the gallery. This is what fascism looks like.”
Tennessee Republicans just cut off debate and passed a bill to arm teachers in our schools.
The public chanted “Blood on your hands!” as the Speaker ordered troopers to clear the gallery.
This is what fascism looks like. pic.twitter.com/9mg67oWMxM
— Rep. Justin Jones (@brotherjones_) April 23, 2024
Cathy Barnett, a volunteer with the group, Tennessee Chapter of Moms Demand Action issued a statement questioning how the guns would “be stored,” and how kids would be prevented from gaining “access to them.”
“These are all critical questions about this type of legislation that never gets answered,” Barnett added.
The bill passed reportedly expands on a current law allowing law enforcement officers and private security guards working at schools to carry firearms.
Under the new legislation, teachers and staff members would need a handgun permit and approval from officials such as the school principal as well as officials from law enforcement agencies. The law would also establish a confidentiality rule regarding who has a concealed carry permit.
Roughly half of the states in the nation “allow teachers or other school employees” who have a concealed carry permit to carry their firearms on school premises, according to Giffords, a research group that strives to bring an end to gun violence.