Tennessee Senate advances bill to arm teachers 1 year after deadly Nashville school shooting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Tennessee cleared a significant hurdle Tuesday on a proposal to permit some trained teachers and faculty who haven’t worked in law enforcement to carry handguns on school grounds, a move that would mark one of the state’s biggest expansion of gun access since a deadly elementary school shooting last year.

The proposal cleared the GOP-controlled chamber amid emotional chants and screams from protesters against the legislation, many of who were eventually ordered to leave the Senate galleries after ignoring warnings to remain quiet.

After receiving a 26-5 vote in the Senate, the proposal is now ready for a House floor vote. If enacted, the proposal would bar disclosing which employees are carrying guns, including to parents of students and even other teachers.

“I’m upset. My child is at risk under this bill,” said Democratic state Sen. London Lamar, holding her 8-month-old son in her arms. “This bill is dangerous and teachers don’t want it. Nobody wants it.”

Senate Speaker Randy McNally, a Republican, cleared the galleries after many in the audience refused to quiet down even as he gaveled repeatedly them for disrupting the debate. In the nearly 15 minutes it took to remove the audience and continue with the debate, they continued to chant “Vote them out;” “No more silence, end gun violence;” and “Kill the bill, not the kids.”

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