Current:Home > MarketsWhat states allow teachers to carry guns at school? Tennessee and Iowa weigh joining them -MoneyBase
What states allow teachers to carry guns at school? Tennessee and Iowa weigh joining them
View
Date:2025-04-13 07:45:08
Tennessee is joining a growing number of states taking steps toward arming teachers as the nation reels amid increasing numbers of school shootings.
After a former student gunned down six people at a Christian elementary school in Nashville last year, Tennessee lawmakers passed a controversial bill in the state Senate that would allow some teachers to go armed in classrooms. The Covenant School shooter, armed with two assault-like rifles and a handgun, killed the head of school, a teacher, a custodian and three 9-year-old students. As the bill awaits action in the House, students, parents and others are staging vocal protests against allowing teachers to carry guns at school.
But Tennessee is far from alone in a nation plagued with deadly school shootings. Here is a closer look at laws in other states governing guns in schools.
Which states allow teachers to carry firearms on school grounds?
More than half of all states have some type of law allowing teachers and other school employees to carry concealed guns on campus, according to data compiled by the Giffords Law Center.
Iowa is the most recent state to push for more guns, with lawmakers this week sending a bill to the governor that would allow teachers and other school employees to obtain permits to carry guns on school grounds.
Just 16 states and the District of Columbia have laws specifically prohibiting teachers from carrying guns - Alabama, California, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Most states, including Tennessee, allow non-law enforcement school security to carry guns on campus, and of the states that allow teachers and other school employees to carry guns, many require permission from the school district.
Spotlight on teacher gun laws
California, a state with some of the nation’s strictest gun laws, allows non-law enforcement to carry guns without needing permission from the school district, but it prohibits teachers and other school employees from carrying them.
Texas, Florida, Arizona, Mississippi and South Dakota allow teachers and other employees to carry if they are designated school guardians or part of a program.
Tennessee and Arkansas prohibit teachers in public schools from carrying guns but allow exemptions for private schools.
Six states - Delaware, Nebraska, North Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Maine - prohibit guns for non-law enforcement school security, teachers and other staff.
What do schools allow for the general public?
Most states prohibit members of the general public from carrying guns on campus, but a handful - Kansas Michigan Mississippi New Hampshire Oregon Utah and Wyoming - allow the guns if the individual has a concealed carry permit.
Just over half of all states allow people with concealed carry permits to keep loaded, unlocked guns in their cars on campus.
How would Tennessee's law arming teachers work?
Tennessee’s law would allow facilities or staff to carry concealed guns on their respective campuses. The state already allows non-law enforcement school security to carry.
The individual would have to get permission from the district and a law enforcement agency. The district would not be required to notify parents if a gun is in their child’s classroom.
A teacher would have to follow these additional requirements:
- Have a valid handgun carry permit
- Undergo a background check
- Complete 40 hours of additional training
- Pass a psychological evaluation
How would Iowa's bill arming teachers work?
Lawmakers in Iowa introduced legislation after a deadly shooting at Perry High School in January, when a high school student shot and killed sixth-grader Ahmir Jolliff and Principal Dan Marburger and wounded half a dozen others before fatally shooting himself.
The legislation sent to Gov. Kim Reynolds this week would allow teachers and other school employees to obtain permits to carry guns on school grounds and grant them qualified immunity for using reasonable force.
"Time and math do not lie," said Rep. Phil Thompson, R-Boone, the bill's manager on the Iowa House floor said. "The first 30 seconds in these scenarios are extremely critical. This bill does set a high standard for districts and staff that want to participate in this and go the extra mile to protect our kids."
Those who want to carry firearms at school under the bill would have to go through a permit process that includes one-time, in-person legal training covering qualified immunity, emergency medical training and communication training, as well as quarterly firearm training and annual "live scenario" training.
Opponents say arming teachers will lead to accidental shootings
Gun violence prevention groups have held protests and spoken out against the legislation, saying it will make students and school employees less safe by increasing the likelihood of accidents involving guns in schools.
"It does nothing to protect children who might be the victim of crossfires, of accidents, of a gun not being properly stored or a curious student finding a gun and accidentally injuring other children," said Iowa, Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames.
A 2023 report from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence documented about 100 incidents of guns being mishandled, left in reach of children or accidentally discharged at schools over the last five years.
veryGood! (332)
Related
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- The Bachelor Season 28 Finale: Find Out If Joey Graziadei Got Engaged
- Last Call for the Amazon Big Spring Sale: Here Are the 41 Best Last-Minute Deals
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Spill the Tea
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- US prosecutors try to send warning to cryptocurrency world with KuCoin prosecution
- Why 'Quiet on Set' documentary on Nickelodeon scandal exposes the high price of kids TV
- Where is the Francis Scott Key Bridge? What to know about collapsed Baltimore bridge
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- New York City owl Flaco was exposed to pigeon virus and rat poison before death, tests show
Ranking
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- TEA Business College leads market excellence strategy
- Big-city crime is down, but not in Memphis. A coalition of America's Black mayors will look for answers.
- Mia Armstrong on her children's book I Am a Masterpiece! detailing life as a person with Down syndrome
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Stock market today: Asian shares trading mixed after Wall Street’s momentum cools
- Introducing TEA Business College: Your Global Financial Partner
- You'll Never Let Go of How Much The Titanic Door Just Sold for at Auction
Recommendation
New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
Penguins recover missing Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads, announce distribution plan
Bruce Springsteen 'literally couldn't sing at all' while dealing with peptic ulcer disease
NFL owners approve ban of controversial hip-drop tackle technique
Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
In New Jersey, some see old-school politics giving way to ‘spring’ amid corruption scandal
List of fruits with the most health benefits: These 8 are expert recommended
Husband of U.S. journalist detained in Russia: I'm not going to give up
Like
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Trump's bond is now $175 million in fraud case. Here's what the New York attorney general could do if he doesn't pay.
- Men described as Idaho prison gang members appear in court on hospital ambush and escape charges