A controversial bill to relax restrictions on who could bring guns on public school campuses died on a tie vote after a dramatic, four-hour committee meeting in the Tennessee House on Wednesday.
The bill was nearly voted on without debate due to a parliamentary move to shut down debate, an action that riled Democrats on the committee and members of the audience, which included parents from the Covenant School waiting to testify. The committee temporarily shut down to cool tempers.
Covenant parents vehemently opposed HB 7064, sponsored by Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, who argued more guns at schools will make children safer.
Several Covenant parents temporarily left the committee room in disgust after Todd suggested that the guns used by the Covenant shooter weren’t the issue in the tragedy, and the shooter probably would have “driven over” the kids at recess if a gun wasn’t available.
Abby Mclean, a Covenant mom, questioned how she should tell her kids that lawmakers want to allow more guns into school, when her children are still scared of firearms.
“How do I explain to these children that that’s your solution? I want an answer,” McLean said.
— Nashville Tennessean in TN special session: Controversial guns in schools bill fails to advance in House