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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
I was expelled from the Tennessee legislature for advocating for gun
control. They still don’t get it
Opinion by Justin J. Pearson
Updated:
12:07 PM EDT, Wed April 24, 2024
Source: CNN
Tennessee lawmakers passed and school personnel to carry guns in the
classroom. The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Bill Lee, but will
become law with or without his signature unless he vetoes it.
The measure is the latest proof that — a full year after the
devastating mass shooting at The Covenant High School in Nashville that
killed six people — our state’s political leaders are no closer to
providing meaningful, viable solutions to address our state’s tragic
gun violence problem.
Guns are still the of death in children and teens in America, and
Tennessee continues to be plagued by one of the of violence perpetrated
with firearms in the country. The Republican supermajority that
controls our state’s General Assembly, tragically, have reneged on
their responsibility to pass meaningful gun safety legislation.
If Republicans have failed to make inroads in combating senseless gun
violence, it cannot be because they are unaware of the seriousness of
the problem. The magnitude of our gun violence problem was made clear
to residents of Tennessee and the entire nation last March after a
shooter armed with a weapon of war carried out the at The Covenant
School. Among the dead were three children, 9-year-olds Hallie Scruggs,
Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney.
Here’s what Republican lawmakers could do instead of passing measures
that would introduce even more guns into our public spaces, and now
potentially our classrooms: They could listen to some of the parents
who have been appalled at the idea that the adults to whom they have
entrusted their children’s care at school every day might be carrying
loaded guns.
One such mom, Beth Gebhard, whose son attended The Covenant School told
me after the shooting that quick action by her son’s teacher might
have saved his life that day, as well as the lives of all of the other
children in the class. But it’s not because the teacher confronted
the shooter with a gun. Far from it.
“My son was in a second-grade classroom close to where the children
were slain. The children heard the intensely loud, repeated shots,”
Beth told me.
“I know the primary reason he’s still alive is that his teacher —
under extreme duress — was able to follow her training to lock the
classroom door, pull down the shades, shepherd the children to the safe
corner of the room and be there with them, helping them to follow her
breathing and to stay silent so the Nashville police officers could do
their work.”
Beth knows that guns belong in the hands of trained professionals who
are best equipped to meet the threat posed by a gunman. Putting
firearms into the hands of classroom teachers and administrators every
day is simply asking for more heartache and tragedy.
Here’s some more wisdom that Tennessee lawmakers could glean from
parents: Immediately following The Covenant School massacre, grieving
parents lined the streets and the entrance to the Tennessee State
House, demanding common sense gun safety laws.
across Nashville and Memphis making similar demands. We’ve seen a
groundswell days, as parents and students raise their voices in
opposition to the measure being considered in the House that could put
guns in the hands of their teachers. The protests continued right
through to Tuesday’s vote: After it was taken, people in the room
could be heard .”
Similar sentiments have echoed across the country. A of Americans favor
stricter gun safety laws in the US, according to a Gallup poll, and a
similar majority of teachers believe arming them would make schools ,
according to research by the Rand Corporation. In Tennessee, a wide
majority — about three-quarters of registered voters — want red
flag laws, according to .
There is one more group that Tennessee lawmakers should consult with
before passing a measure that could make our gun violence problem even
worse: The members of the law enforcement community who are directly
tasked with keeping schools safe.
The (NASRO) also opposes arming teachers, and their research data
aligns with the fears of teachers and school staff. Among other
warnings, NASRO reports that a law enforcement officer could mistake an
armed teacher for an assailant and that discharging weapons in a school
is an “extremely risky action” that could result in wounding or
killing innocent children and staff.
Their data also indicate that an armed teacher is more likely to
interfere with first responders’ actions than to stop a school
shooter. Besides all of the data indicating the dangers of arming
teachers, the training outlined in the proposed bill is insufficient to
prepare teachers to safely carry and operate a weapon in the event of a
mass shooting.
Unfortunately, rather than heeding wise counsel on the subject of
reducing gun violence, our legislature has frequently resorted to
reactive and even anti-democratic tactics.
Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones, Rep. Gloria Johnson and I responded
to the pleas of our constituents and the mourners outside and inside
the State House last year, joining them in peaceful protest against a
conservative majority that refused to listen.
However, on that day and every day since, the majority party lawmakers
appear to answer to a different constituency — the and the . And they
responded to our efforts to represent the grieving people of Tennessee
by expelling Jones and me — two Black men — from our duly elected
offices.
Although our municipal governments promptly reinstated us and our
constituents voted us back into office, the supermajority in the
Tennessee State House is still trying to silence us. Despite the
retribution politics that dominate the Republican agenda, we refuse to
be silent. We will not sit still and be quiet while our children and
communities are ravaged by gun violence.
Arming teachers the likelihood of shootings in schools, increases the
chance that students will have access to guns and erodes trust in
educators. A teacher with a handgun is unable to stop a shooter with a
military-style weapon, and teachers aren’t able to respond in the
ways trained law enforcement agents can. Adverse impacts — including
fatal outcomes — will fall on already marginalized populations such
as disabled and Black students.
According to the national teachers’ union the American Federation of
Teachers, more than oppose putting guns in the hands of educators and
school staff, stating that schools would be more dangerous if staff
were armed. , as well as , oppose arming teachers.
“Arming teachers is not the answer to school shootings — it’s a
dangerous next step in the gun lobby’s ‘guns everywhere’ agenda.
We need to vote these reckless politicians out and elect lawmakers who
will fight for the common sense, research-backed gun safety laws that
Tennesseans deserve,” says Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director
of Moms Demand Action, the anti-gun violence group founded after
another horrific school mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in
December 2012.
As parents tell me time and again, guns in classrooms simply are not
the answer. “Can you imagine what would have happened if my son’s
teacher left the classroom with a handgun to confront the shooter with
military-grade weapons?” Beth asked me. “Not only would she have
been killed, but she would have left terrified 8-year-olds alone —
many likely crying and some following her — alerting the shooter to
their presence. I have no doubt my son wouldn’t have survived.”
Arming teachers does not create the school environment we want or need.
Students deserve better. They deserve nurturing and care in a trusting
and productive educational environment where they can thrive.
This moment requires our highest reasoning and the best of our efforts.
It requires elected officials to do everything we can to end the gun
violence epidemic plaguing our communities, our state and our nation.
But the bill approved by our state legislature is a red herring that
not only prevents us from dealing with the problem of gun safety and
fear in schools, but also puts our kids and teachers in more danger.
We need what a vast majority of Tennessee voters and voters nationwide
want: common sense gun legislation. These include those articulated by
and , who are calling for more counseling for children, closing
gun-buying loopholes, mandating stronger background checks and passing
safer storage laws.
We must do right by our children and our communities. We can only do
that by listening to them, rather than to those who profit from gun
violence.
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