Orwellian Phrase Used in Tennessee, “Arming Teachers”

The phrase “arming teachers” has standard meanings: To provide teachers with arms or to force teachers to carry arms.  “Arming teachers” puts teachers in a passive role, with someone else “arming” them. It is being used to oppose a mild gun law reform bill in Tennessee.

The phrase is being used in an Orwellian way by those opposed to an armed population. It is used by the left to prevent teachers from being allowed to protect themselves and the children in their care.  The phrase “arming teachers” has become equated with removing restrictions on the ability of teachers to arm themselves. 

This is standard causation reversal by leftists.  Teachers are not armed because school administrators and governments have prevented them from being armed. 

The Orwellian phrase “arming teachers”  is being used to stop a mild reform law in Tennessee, which would allow some volunteer teachers, under severe restrictions, to carry concealed weapons to protect themselves and their students. From the tennessean.com:

How would Tennessee’s law arming teachers work?

Tennessee’s law would allow facilities or staff to carry concealed guns on their respective campuses.

Later, the article mentions the extreme restrictions on carrying by teachers in Tennessee schools.

• They have to have to obtain permission from the school administration
• They must obtain permission from a law enforcement agency
• They must obtain a concealed carry permit,
• They must undergo a separate background check,
• They must complete 40 hours of extra instruction and pass a psychological evaluation.

From actionnews5.com:

If passed, this bill would arm school staff members upon completing training, background checks and a psychological evaluation.

The idea that teachers should not be armed is a recent one in American history, along with the idea of schools being controlled by a state or national bureaucracy instead of by parents.

According to US Concealed Carry, 32 states allow for staff to be armed at school, with a multitude of restrictions, while 18 states ban the practice.

A year ago, District Administration wrote that 33 states allowed teachers to be armed, with various degrees of permission required.  This CBS News article claims eight states allow school staff to be armed if they have a concealed carry permit.

The reality is two-thirds of the states in the union allow teachers to be armed, generally with fewer restrictions than is being proposed in the Tennessee reform bill.

In practice, many administrations place barriers on teachers’ ability to carry in school. Eight states allow teachers with concealed carry permits to carry in schools without further restrictions and training. Those states may require the permission of the school administration.

People with concealed carry permits have far fewer problems with firearms than do police officers. The ability of armed defenders to stop mass murderers has been demonstrated numerous times.

The Bill passed the Senate 26 to 5. It was sent to the House on April 11. The Tennessee legislature is scheduled to adjourn on April 25, 2024. If SB1325 is not voted on by April 25, it will have been killed.  Republicans in Tennessee hold the Senate, 27-6, the House, 75-23, and have Republican Bill Lee in the Governor’s mansion.

The Democrats only hold 6 seats in the Senate and 23 seats in the House. However, they have the vast majority of media in Tennessee proclaimed this bill is a serious danger to students because it “Arms Teachers.”  The argument is, essentially, “Guns are Bad.”

Update: HB1202/SB1325 has passed the House, 68-28, and will be sent to Governor Bill Lee for his signature.  Once the Bill is sent to Governor Lee, he will have 10 days to sign the bill, veto the bill, or allow the bill to take effect without his signature. The 10 day period excludes Sundays. The bill has to engrossed (printed in its final form) and signed by both speakers before it is sent to the governor.

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About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.