Three controversial gun bills discussed in legislature have been proposed with the intent to stop mass shootings and to make Tennessee a safer place.
The three bills were the topic of conversation on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Two of the bills that made it out of committee to be discussed further would allow guns on school properties.
The first bill that was brought up would allow principals to select certain teachers at their schools and allow those teachers to carry guns.
This could be in place of a security officer, or in support of a security officer in case a shooter enters a school.
"I was a principal for 9 years, the ideal situation is to have an SRO in each school, but also have maybe 2 administrators or teachers trained because an SRO is gonna be a target” said Rep. David Byrd of Wayne County.
One of the other bills that made it out of committee had to do with gun-free zones.
Currently, if someone gets shot at a business that is a gun-free zone, the business could be liable. The bill proposed Tuesday would not change that.
However, it would make it so that much of their liability would be removed if a business does not post a gun-free zone sign, due to everyone’s ability to protect themselves if they choose to carry a gun.
"We're never going to stop mass shootings or killings, heart of man is wicked - the best way to stop a bad man with a gun is good people with guns,” said Rep. Jeremy Faison of Cocke County.
The final bill that was talked about Tuesday evening was a bill that would allow any full-time employee of state colleges and universities with handgun permits to carry on school property.
That bill would not force any staff to carry a gun, but it would give them an option.
While all of these bills made it out of committee, they did not make it out without controversy and without people opposing them, saying that they would do the opposite of keep people safe.
