More than 5,000 sign letter urging rejection of Tennessee's bill to arm teachers

A letter urging Tennessee legislators not to pass a bill that would allow public K-12 school teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns on campus had garnered more than 5,300 signatures as of Monday afternoon.

Parents of students at The Covenant School in Nashville, where a shooter killed three children and three staff members last spring, were behind the letter and the push for signatures. As of 1 p.m. Monday, the signature count came to 5,366 and included parents, grandparents, teachers, medical professionals, community members and others from all over Tennessee.

Organizers behind the letter said they were "devastated" to see the measure, SB1325/HB1202, pass the Senate amid vocal protests earlier this month. It could go before the full House for a vote this week as legislators wind down their regular session.

"While we all want safe schools and an end to gun violence, arming teachers with guns is not the way," part of the letter read. "It ignores research that shows the presence of a gun increases the risks posed to children."

Sarah Shoop Neumann, whose child attends Covenant, handed the signed letter to an aide for Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, at the Tennessee Capitol on Monday.

Teachers and staff who wish to carry a firearm must undergo annual training, pass an FBI background check and complete a psychiatric evaluation. The district director, school principal and leader of the local law enforcement agency must also sign off on each application. Proponents of the bill say it closes gaps in schools with no school resource officer or in communities with limited police presence or long response times.

The letter criticizes gaps in the training and says the burden of wielding a gun and potentially confronting an assailant is not something teachers and school staff should bear. It also said the measure ignores FBI and National Association of School Resource Officers recommendations for training and best practices when it comes to armed staff in schools.

"Anyone who hasn’t received extensive training, such as that provided to law enforcement officers, will likely be mentally unprepared to take a life, especially the life of a student assailant," part of the letter read.

The letter also argues that armed teachers and staff could lead to complications and confusion when it comes to police response, and that handguns are no match for assailants armed with assault-style rifles.

"We must ensure every student, at every school, has proper security to ensure they are truly safe when their parents drop them off each morning, not improper security measures that could place students and staff at risk for harm," the letter read. "Ultimately, we need preventative measures against gun violence so no other community in our state experiences the tragedy that took place at The Covenant School did on March 27th, 2023."

The full letter, which is still open for signatures, can be found here.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Arming teachers in Tennessee: Thousands sign letter opposing bill