SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
tennessee gop
'Absolutely Absurd': Tennessee GOP Advances Concealed Guns for Teachers
"We should not be afraid to send our kids to school, but extremist lawmakers are hellbent on expanding the gun lobby's guns everywhere agenda and putting our kids at risk," said one state campaigner.
Apr 10, 2024
Gun control advocates, including families of mass shooting survivors, condemned Tennessee Senate Republicans for a 26-5 vote along party lines on Tuesday to advance legislation allowing teachers and staff to carry concealed firearms in public schools.
"Since the devastating shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville last year, the [Tennessee] Legislature has had the opportunity to take meaningful action on gun safety," said Moms Demand Action executive director Angela Ferrell-Zabala. "Instead, they have chosen to 'debate the safety of their communities' behind closed doors in a process that has often excluded their constituents and their own colleagues."
"In fact, the only thing the Tennessee Republican Party and Gov. Bill Lee have done to answer our cries for gun safety since three children and three adults were killed at the Covenant School last year is move to ARM TEACHERS," she continued. "This will not make our schools or our communities safer."
The Senate GOP passed the bill despite objections from parents of children who survived the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian institution. It now heads to the state House of Representatives, which has just 24 Democrats and 75 Republicans—who, over the past year, have ignored demands for stricter gun laws and tried to silence lawmakers who fight for them.
"We expect [Tennessee] legislators to heed the cries of their constituents and take meaningful action on gun safety now—and to do it in the light of day," said Ferrell-Zabala. "And don't forget—elections matter. You want something different for [Tennessee]? VOTE THEM OUT."
\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f @SenatorLamar: \u201cTeachers don\u2019t even want this. This bill is dangerous... look at that gallery. Those mothers are asking you not to do this.\u201d\n\nWith a baby in her arms. Powerful. But every Senate Republican voted yes anyway, as troopers dragged out the moms above.— (@)
Bobbi Sloan, a volunteer leader with the Students Demand Action chapter at Vanderbilt University, said that "as a student studying to be a teacher, I know that managing a classroom is already tough enough without adding a deadly weapon into the mix."
"For every gun that's placed in a classroom, a new opportunity is created for students to become another statistic," Sloan warned. "This is not the solution. In fact, it's absolutely absurd to respond to our cries for change with a bill that will only endanger us more."
During the Senate debate, gun reform advocates filled the gallery—though after several disruptions, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-5) ordered state troopers to clear the area of all but a group of Covenant School mothers, according to The Tennessean.
Beth Gebhard, whose 9-year-old daughter Ava and 12-year-old son Hudson survived the Covenant shooting, opposes the bill. Clearing the Senate gallery was "cowardly," she told the newsaper. "If they are supposed to be representative of our voice and they are dismissing these people... they are not for us and it is appalling... It's so upsetting. It makes me want to move."
Linda McFadyen-Ketchum—a volunteer with the state chapter of Moms Demand Action who was dragged out of the gallery by law enforcement—argued that "we should be listening to Tennessee law enforcement, teachers, superintendents, and more who have spoke out against arming teachers."
"And, most importantly, we should be listening to Tennesseans, who are worried that their children won't come home from school every day," she declared. "We should not be afraid to send our kids to school, but extremist lawmakers are hellbent on expanding the gun lobby's guns everywhere agenda and putting our kids at risk. Lawmakers should reject this legislation immediately."
As Chalkbeatreported Tuesday, if a local school district and law enforcement agency agreed to the legislative proposal, sponsored by Tennessee Sen. Paul Bailey (R-15) and Rep. Ryan Williams (R-42), "interested teachers and school staff who have an enhanced handgun permit would have to complete 40 hours of certified training in school policing at their own expense."
They would also have to pass a mental health evaluation and background check, and renew the training annually. Chalkbeat noted that "parents would not be notified if their child's teacher is armed. And one provision of the bill shields districts and law enforcement agencies from potential civil lawsuits over how a teacher or school employee uses, or doesn't use, a handgun."
Gebhard told The Tennessean that she cannot imagine a teacher having to face a shooter armed with an assault-style rifle.
"A handgun will do nothing against that," the Covenant mother said. "If what had happened on March 27 had gone down the way that it did with a teacher armed with a handgun attempting to put the perpetrator out, my children would likely be dead."
Tennessee Republican lawmakers are not alone in trying to implement or expand policies to arm teachers and school staff. GOP legislators have pushed similar bills in other states this year, including Iowa, Idaho, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Expelled Tennessee Democrat Says GOP Is Threatening to Cut Local Funding If He's Reinstated
"This is what folks really have to realize," said former state Rep. Justin Pearson. "The power structure in the state of Tennessee is always wielding against the minority party and people."
Apr 10, 2023
One of the Tennessee Democrats who was removed last week by the Republican-dominated state House said Sunday that GOP lawmakers have threatened county officials with funding cuts in an effort to deter them from voting to reinstate the expelled representative.
"I would be honored to accept the appointment of the Shelby County Commission," former state Rep. Justin Pearson said of the local body that is set to meet on Wednesday to decide who will fill the empty seat until a special election is held. Pearson told NBC News on Sunday that he intends to run in the special election triggered by his widely condemned expulsion, which stemmed from his participation in a gun control protest on the state House floor following a school shooting in Nashville.
The Memphis Democrat said he has "heard that people in the state legislature and in Nashville are actually threatening our Shelby County commissioners to not reappoint me, or they're going to take away funding that's in the government's budget for projects that the mayor and others have asked for."
"This is what folks really have to realize," said Pearson. "The power structure in the state of Tennessee is always wielding against the minority party and people."
Late last week, Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon told local reporters that members of the body are "being threatened by the state to take away funding, needed funding to run our schools, to run our municipalities."
"This is about bullying people into submission. And enough is enough," said Sugarmon. "We've got to stand for something or fall for everything. And we've been bullied by the state for too long now."
It's unclear whether Pearson has enough support among the 13 Shelby County commissioners to win reinstatement ahead of the coming special election.
Mickell Lowery, the chair of the commission, said in a statement Sunday that "the protests at the state Capitol by citizens recently impacted by the senseless deaths of three nine-year-old children and three adults entrusted with their care at their school was understandable given the fact that the gun laws in the state of Tennessee are becoming nearly nonexistent."
"It is equally understandable that the leadership of the state House of Representatives felt a strong message had to be sent to those who transgressed the rules," said Lowery. "However, I believe the expulsion of State Representative Justin Pearson was conducted in a hasty manner without consideration of other corrective action methods. I also believe that the ramifications for our great state are still yet to be seen."
"Coincidentally, this has directly affected me as I too reside in State House District 86," he continued. "I am amongst the over 68,000 citizens who were stripped of having a representative at the state due to the unfortunate outcome of the State Assembly's vote. Therefore, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners will consider the action to reappoint Mr. Justin Pearson to his duly elected position to represent the citizens in District 86 for the State of Tennessee House of Representatives in a special called meeting on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 1:30 PM."
Rep. Justin Jones, a Nashville Democrat who was expelled along with Pearson for showing solidarity with demonstrators on the state House floor, reportedly has the support of a majority of the Nashville Metropolitan Council members expected to convene Monday to vote on the removed lawmaker's reinstatement.
Jones warned last week that Tennessee House Republicans could refuse to seat him and Pearson if they are reappointed or if they win a special election.
In his NBC appearance on Sunday, Jones said the resounding national response to his and Pearson's expulsion makes clear that the Tennessee GOP's "attack on democracy will not go on unchallenged."
"The Tennessee House Republicans' attempt to crucify democracy has instead resurrected a movement led by young people to restore our democracy, to build a multiracial coalition," Jones said. "We will continue to fight for our constituents."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Nearly 270 State Lawmakers Denounce 'Anti-Democratic' Expulsion Effort by Tennessee GOP
"There is nothing 'disorderly' about courageously standing in solidarity with the people we are elected to serve, in opposition to the gun lobby that continues to profiteer off of an epidemic they have fueled," reads a letter signed by 267 lawmakers.
Apr 06, 2023
Lawmakers from 35 states on Thursday signed a letter condemning the Tennessee Republican Party as it prepared to expel three Democratic representatives who joined a protest demanding gun control legislation in the State Capitol, with the letter accusing the state GOP of racist and "anti-democratic" conduct.
Tennessee Reps. Gloria Johnson (D-13), Justin Jones (D-52), and Justin Pearson (D-86) joined Nashville students and their supporters on Monday as they poured into the Capitol building, demanding that lawmakers ban weapons like the ones used in a mass shooting at a Christian school in the city last week, which killed three children and three adults, and pass other broadly popular gun control legislation.
Republicans have accused the three Democrats of bringing "disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives" by speaking without recognition during a protest on the chamber's floor last week, a technical violation of the House rules, and of taking part in an "insurrection."
"There is nothing 'disorderly' about courageously standing in solidarity with the people we are elected to serve, in opposition to the gun lobby that continues to profiteer off of an epidemic they have fueled," reads the letter. "The Tennessee State Capitol is the people's house, and Representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson exemplified leadership on the House floor this week by standing up for what's right. Any attempts to silence these elected leaders for exercising their constitutional right to protest are anti-democratic."
\u201cRead the full letter, signed by 200+ state legislators in support of the Tennessee 3 https://t.co/eVxxqogL6a\u201d— State Innovation Exchange (SiX) (@State Innovation Exchange (SiX)) 1680779651
The Republicans passed three resolutions to hold votes on expelling the lawmakers on Monday, with each passing 72-23 on a party line vote. The vote on expulsion is expected to take place Thursday.
The letter, organized by the State Innovation Exchange (SiX), accused the GOP of exemplifying the "robust and racist connection between fighting against gun safety and dismantling our democracy." Pearson and Jones are Black, and the lawmakers pointed out that people of color are disproportionately impacted by gun violence in the United States.
"Let's be clear, the vote to expel Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson is just another anti-democratic effort to silence the American people for speaking out against the devastating consequences of gun violence," said Neha Patel, co-executive director of SiX. "Calling for gun safety within the people's house is an example of our democracy in action, expelling lawmakers for standing for what they believe in is not."
"Gun violence impacts all of us, especially the Black and brown communities many legislators in Tennessee represent," she added. "Ultimately, these kinds of actions present clear and present danger to our country and our democracy, and we must not allow it."
March for Our Lives, the national group that was formed in 2018 by survivors of the Parkland, Florida school shooting, announced it would hold a rally outside the State Capitol on Thursday in support of the Johnson, Jones, and Pearson.
\u201c\u203c\ufe0f\u26a0\ufe0f IMMEDIATE CALL TO ACTION IN TENNESSEE\u26a0\ufe0f\u203c\ufe0f \n\nThe TN legislature is slated to expel three members for peacefully protesting with gun control advocates just days after a mass shooting. \n\nWe need people at the Capitol making their voices heard. \n\nCALL, EMAIL, SHOW UP.\u201d— Olivia Julianna \ud83d\uddf3 (@Olivia Julianna \ud83d\uddf3) 1680741064
"We will not be silenced or intimidated," said advocacy group Gen Z for Change, addressing state Republicans. "As elected officials, your power is derived from the people and we will make it painfully obvious when you decide to work against us."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular