Both houses of the state legislature in Tennessee passed a bill that will, if signed into law by Tennessee’s Republican Governor, require public schools to teach gun safety courses appropriate for the students’ ages and grade levels. The required safe firearm handling classes would begin in the 2025-2026 school year, if Gov. Bill Lee signs the bill.
The bill, HB 2882, passed the Republican-dominated Tennessee House in February of 2024. The Tennessee Senate then picked up the bill on Thursday, April 4, and voted in favor of it that morning. The Senate vote was a straight 24-3 party-line vote, with Republicans pushing it through and sending it to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk.
Speaking in favor of the bill in February, Rep. Chris Todd, a Republican lawmaker who sponsored HB 2882, explained that he thinks it will help prevent firearm-related accidents and injuries. He said, “We see this proposed legislation as a critical step in averting firearm related accidents while fostering greater awareness and responsibility among gun owners.”
More recently, Sen. Paul Bailey of Sparta, Tennessee, explained that the courses would teach kids what to do if they come across a firearm. He said, “This curriculum would be developed to instruct children on how to properly stay away from a firearm if they happen to see a firearm, and what to do as far as reporting if they find a firearm.”
The bill itself provides, “Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, this bill requires each LEA and public charter school to annually provide students with age-appropriate and grade-appropriate instruction on firearm safety. The instruction must begin with the earliest appropriate grade, as determined by the departments above, and must continue in each subsequent grade through grade 12.”
Continuing, the text provides, as Sen. Bailey explained, “The instruction required must do the following: (1) Teach students safe storage of firearms, school safety relating to firearms, how to avoid injury if the student finds a firearm, to never touch a found firearm, and to immediately notify an adult of the location of a found firearm; (2) Be viewpoint neutral on political topics, such as gun rights, gun violence, and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution; and (3) Not include the use or presence of live ammunition, live fire, or live firearms.”
The bill also provides, “This bill authorizes the instruction to be provided in a classroom setting, through the viewing of a video, or through the review of online resources or materials, as determined by the department of education. Each LEA and public charter school must determine how best to incorporate the instruction into the school year.”
Despite the fact that the bill creates viewpoint-neutral classes that don’t involve live ammunition, Sen. Jeff Yarbo attacked the bill, saying, “Children are already bearing an incredible brunt of the escalation that we’ve seen in gun violence – that is widely reported in our own state government’s data. Data demonstrates that children are increasingly likely to become victims of firearms in homicides, suicides, gun violence, accidental deaths.”
Continuing, Sen. Yarbo went on to say, “But rather than deal with the fact that there are firearms that are negligently and recklessly left somewhere by adults, we’re trying to teach children how to deal with that negligence.”
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