Tennessee wants to allow its teachers to protect themselves. This southern US state adopted a bill on Tuesday authorizing teachers, principals and other school staff to carry a handgun, a year after a school shooting.
Around fifteen American states authorize the carrying of weapons for school staff, at the discretion of academic districts, in the context of an increase in school shootings in recent years.
The governor “open” to this idea
Passed Tuesday by the Tennessee House of Representatives, the law was approved by the Senate earlier in April. It must now be validated by Governor Bill Lee, who has already said he is “open” to this idea. The law sets several conditions: staff members wishing to carry a weapon must notably complete 40 hours of “basic training in maintaining order in schools”.
In March 2023, an attacker opened fire at a Nashville elementary school, killing three nine-year-old students and three staff members before being shot dead by police. The Tennessee Legislature is dominated by Republicans, the party with the strongest supporters of gun rights. Democratic elected officials were excluded after demonstrations demanding more restrictions on weapons after the tragedy at the Nashville school.
Killings are frequent in American schools, but federal institutions have little room for maneuver on the subject: each state can issue its own regulations.