NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's a controversial bill that would allow teachers to be armed inside of schools.
House Bill 1202 would let a teacher bring a concealed weapon in and out of the classroom every day. However, they would need to have a handgun carry permit, get approval from the school, pass a psychological evaluation and go through 40 hours of additional training.
Melissa Alexander, the mother of a 10-year-old boy who was in the Covenant School the day an active shooter opened fire, says the bill is problematic as is.
"In my son's classroom, the door wouldn't lock, so the way they survived was by that teachers keeping them calm and quiet. You can see that shooter walking by their room on the surveillance video and it was all because of the heroism of our teacher."
She explains if the teacher had a gun, the situation may have played out differently.
"If that teacher were to leave that classroom, what we say is that teacher would put themselves in harm's way," she said.
Melissa believes not only could the bill backfire if a weapon fell into the wrong hands, but with no requirement for safe storage and not enough direct firearm training, it's not complete.
"Just a regular everyday teacher, just with these 40 hours of training...most of that's classroom training and not firearm training...we know that's probably setting them up to fail."
Last week, we shared important perspectives on the issue from parents, teachers, gun safety experts, lawmakers, and law enforcement.
Supporters say the requirements in place are adequate and that the bill could help rural counties who may not have School Resource Officers at hand.
However, Melissa says what her child experienced deserves to be taken into account.
"[The kids at Covenant are] always in the back of my mind, and I know what I know because my child survived. It is a direct account and I think there's a lot to be learned from that," she said.
"Listen to our stories. Listen to our feedback, and take that into account when we're writing bills."
The House says they don't know when or if they'll consider passing the bill this year. If they don't pass it before the end of the session, they would have to start over next year.
Melissa and other mothers of the Covenant School shooting survivors will hold a press conference on the bill Monday morning.
You can find more information on HB1202 here and here.
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