2024-04-19 16:16:56
More than half of all states have some kind of law that allows teachers and other school employees to carry guns on campus.
Bonded mother describes son’s experience during school shooting in Nashville
Sobs echoed through a Tennessee House committee room Wednesday as Becky Hansen described how her 5-year-old son’s Covenant School teacher reacted when she realized someone had opened fire inside the school on March 27.
Look
Tennessee joins a growing number of states take steps to arm teachers as the nation reels amid increasing numbers of school shootings.
After a former student shot dead six people at a Christian primary school in Nashville last year, Tennessee lawmakers passed a controversial bill in the state Senate that would allow some teachers to go armed in classrooms. The Covenant School shooter, armed with two assault rifles and a handgun, killed the principal, a teacher, a guardian and three 9-year-old students. As the bill awaits action in the House, students, parents and others are taking action vocal protest against allowing teachers to carry guns at the school.
But Tennessee is far from alone in a country plagued by deadly school shootings. Here’s a closer look at laws in other states that regulate weapons in schools.
Which states allow teachers to carry firearms on school grounds?
More than half of all states have some kind of law that allows teachers and other school employees to carry concealed guns on campus, according to data compiled by the Giffords Law Center.
Iowa is the most recent state to push for more guns, with lawmakers are sending a bill this week to the governor that would allow teachers and other school employees to get permits to carry guns on school grounds.
Only 16 states and the District of Columbia have laws specifically prohibiting teachers from carrying guns – Alabama, California, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Virginia , Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Most states, including Tennessee, allow non-law enforcement school security to carry guns on campus, and of the states that do allow teachers and other school employees to carry guns, many require permission from the school district.
Spotlight on teacher gun laws
California, a state with some of the nation’s strictest gun laws, allows non-law enforcement officers to carry guns without requiring permission from the school district, but it prohibits teachers and other school employees from carrying them.
Texas, Florida, Arizona, Mississippi and South Dakota allow teachers and other employees to carry if they are designated school custodians or part of a program.
Tennessee and Arkansas prohibit public school teachers from carrying guns, but allow exemptions for private schools.
Six states — Delaware, Nebraska, North Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Maine — ban guns for non-law enforcement school security, teachers and other staff.
What do schools allow for the general public?
Most states prohibit members of the general public from carrying guns on campus, but a handful — Kansas Michigan Mississippi New Hampshire Oregon Utah and Wyoming — allow the guns if the individual has a concealed carry permit.
Just over half of all states allow people with concealed carry permits to keep loaded, unlocked guns in their cars on campus.
How would Tennessee’s law teachers work?
Tennessee’s law would allow facilities or staff to carry concealed guns on their respective campuses. The state already allows non-law enforcement to carry school security.
The individual will need to get permission from the district and a law enforcement agency. The district will not be required to notify parents if a gun is in their child’s classroom.
A teacher will have to meet these additional requirements:
- Have a valid handgun carry permit
- Undergo a background check
- Complete 40 hours of additional training
- Pass a psychological evaluation
How would Iowa’s bill to arm teachers work?
Lawmakers in Iowa introduced legislation after a deadly shooting at Perry High School in January, when a high school student shot and killed sixth-grader Ahmir Jolliff and Principal Dan Marburger and wounded half a dozen others before fatally shooting himself.
The legislation sent to Gov. Kim Reynolds this week would allow teachers and other school employees to obtain permits to carry guns on school grounds and grant them qualified immunity for the use of reasonable force.
“Time and math don’t lie,” said Rep. Phil Thompson, R-Boone, the bill’s manager said on the Iowa House floor. “The first 30 seconds in these scenarios are extremely critical. This bill does set a high standard for districts and staff who want to participate in this and go the extra mile to protect our children.”
Those who wish to carry firearms at school under the law will have to go through a permit process that includes one-time, in-person legal training that includes qualified immunity, emergency medical training and communications training, as well as quarterly firearms training and annual “live scenario” training.
Opponents say arming teachers will lead to accidental shootings
Gun violence prevention groups have held protests and spoken out against the legislation, saying it would make students and school employees less safe by increasing the likelihood of accidents involving guns in schools.
“It does nothing to protect children who may be the victim of crossfire, of accidents, of a gun not being stored properly or a curious student finding a gun and accidentally injuring other children,” says Iowa , Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D. – Ames.
A 2023 Report from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence documented about 100 incidents of guns being mishandled, left within reach of children or accidentally discharged at schools over the past five years.
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