Nashville sheriff fears law to arm teachers may do more harm than good

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill to arm teachers in schools and the Governor will likely to sign it. But the sheriff here in the state's biggest city is sounding off.

Daron Hall said the controversial bill won't improve security and may actually put children at risk.

Teachers with guns is a controversial topic. Some, especially in more rural areas, support the idea. But here in Nashville, the Davidson County Sheriff is not convinced.

"It's the overall attitude towards more guns are better. And more people having guns are better. I don't believe that," said Sheriff Daron Hall.

He understands the concerns about security after the mass shooting last year at The Covenant School.

But, arming teachers?

"I don't have confidence that this law is going to make anyone safer," he added.

Sheriff Hall knows that others — like Coffee County sheriff Chad Partin — support the idea, especially in more rural areas where the budget is not there to put an armed resource officer in every school.

"We're putting that option out there to carry this firearm for when all hell breaks loose. That's it," said Sheriff Partin.

But that is exactly what Sheriff Hall fears.

Yes, teachers who volunteer to carry guns must undergo a psych evaluation a background check and gun training.

But, Hall imagines all that could go wrong — for instance:

"Law enforcement taking out the teacher thinking it's the bad guy. Or you could have a teacher who is trying to save children who shoot in the wrong direction and harms children," said Hall.

And the sheriff discounts the idea that armed teachers are a deterrent to active shooters.

"I don't think people who are that deranged are going to care what the law is," Hall said.

The sheriff said arming teachers ignores the larger problem of gun violence in general and would like to see more effort put into keeping the guns out of the hands of those who would do harm.

Currently, thirty-two states have some kind of law allowing teachers to carry guns in K-12 schools.