Tennessee Governor Plans to Sign Bill That Would Allow Teachers to Carry Guns in Schools

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Thursday that he planned to sign a bill that state lawmakers sent to his desk this week that would allow school employees to carry concealed weapons on school grounds.

“What’s important to me is that we provide districts with tools and the option to use a tool that will keep their children safe in their schools,” Lee said at a news conference Thursday after sharing his plans to sign the legislation.

Under state law, Lee, a Republican, has the option of signing the bill, vetoing it or allowing it to become law without his signature.

The Republican-controlled state House approved the measure Tuesday largely along party lines, about a year after a gunman opened fire and killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville. The state Senate, which is also controlled by the Republican Party, passed the measure this month.

Lee on Thursday highlighted the legislation’s requirements that teachers and staff who wish to carry concealed weapons on school grounds complete a minimum of 40 hours of approved training specific to school policing each year. They must also obtain written authorization from law enforcement authorities, he noted.

“There are people across the state who disagree about the path forward,” Lee said Thursday, adding that he thought the legislation would allow school districts the opportunity to decide “at the local level what is best for schools and children from that district.” .”

But the move drew criticism from Democrats like state Rep. Bo Mitchell, who referred to the Covenant shooting in remarks on the House floor.

“That’s what we’re going to do. This is our reaction to the murder of teachers and children in a school. Our reaction is to throw more weapons at him. What is wrong with us?” Mitchell said.

Tennessee is not the only state that has passed legislation allowing teachers to carry guns. At least 26 states have laws that allow teachers or other school employees to possess guns on school grounds, with some exceptions, according to the Giffords Law Centera gun violence prevention group.

CORRECTION (April 25, 2025, 10:31 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated when Mitchell made his comments on the House floor. He did them on Tuesday, not Wednesday.