After receiving a 26-5 Senate vote, the proposal is now ready for a House floor vote. The bill would bar disclosing which employees are carrying guns beyond school administrators and police, including to parents of students and even other teachers. A principal, school district and law enforcement agency would have to agree to let staff carry guns.
Senate Speaker Randy McNally, a Republican, cleared the galleries after many protesters refused to quiet down even as he gaveled them down repeatedly for disruptions. In the nearly 15 minutes it took to remove the audience and resume the debate, they continued chanting, “Vote them out;” “No more silence, end gun violence;” and “Kill the bill, not the kids.”
The heated debate comes about a year after a shooter indiscriminately opened fire last March at The Covenant School — a Christian institution in Nashville — and killed three children and three adults before being fatally shot by police.
Only a handful of GOP supporters spoke in favor of the bill, taking time to stress that teachers would not be required to be armed or use their weapons in active shooter situations. They argued that it could be particularly helpful in rural counties with limited law enforcement resources.
“It’s time that we look at the facts of the bill, that we are not trying to shoot a student, but protect a student from an active shooter whose sole purpose is to get into that school and kill people,” Republican Sen. Ken Yager said.
A worker who wants to carry a handgun would need to have a handgun carry permit, have written authorization from both the school's principal and local law enforcement, clear a background check and undergo 40 hours of handgun training.
