Tennessee passes bill to let teachers carry guns in schools
The bill's passage in the Republican-led Legislature comes a year after a shooter opened fire and killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville.
Lawmakers in Tennessee passed a measure Tuesday that would allow school staff to carry concealed handguns on school grounds, sending the bill to the governor a year after a shooter opened fire and killed six people at a Nashville school.
The Tennessee House cleared the legislation in a 68-28 vote. Four Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the measure. The state Senate, which is also controlled by the GOP, passed the measure earlier this month.
Republican state Rep. Ryan Williams on Tuesday said the bill would bolster school safety.
"I believe that this is a method by which we can do that, because what you're doing is you're creating a deterrent," he said on the House floor.
Under the legislation, faculty and staff members who wish to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds would need to complete a minimum of 40 hours of approved training specific to school policing each year.
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