Map Shows States Where Teachers Can Carry Guns

Tennessee became the latest state to allow teachers to carry firearms inside K-12 public schools after lawmakers vowed action in the wake of a deadly school shooting in Nashville last year.

Aidan Hale, a former student, entered the Covenant School on March 27, 2023, and killed three nine-year-old children and three adults before police shot the 28-year-old dead. There have been at least 15 school shootings in the United States since then where one or more people were injured. Gun violence is the leading cause of death in children, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Tennessee law means faculty and staff in schools can carry concealed handguns on school grounds. To qualify, educators need a handgun carry permit and written permission from their school's director and principal. A secrecy clause bars administrators from revealing to parents who in the school is armed.

An analysis of state laws by Newsweek shows that more than 30 states allow teachers to carry guns under certain conditions. The majority of these states require at least the permission of a school authority, and in some states, the teacher must undergo additional training. New Hampshire is the only state with no restrictions on adults carrying guns on school grounds; only students are prohibited.

The map below details the different rules in each state.

The Tennessee law passed in the State Senate earlier in April with a 26-5 vote along party lines and amid controversy.

At the time, Democratic State Senator Raumesh Akbari said, "A teacher is not allowed to put a rainbow pride flag on their desk, but she's allowed to carry a gun in this state. That's all I'll say."

"We don't want this fantasy of the lawmakers of ... somebody coming into our school and some teacher hero with a gun to solve that issue," high schooler Ava Edmonson told local media during a protest on April 15.

The bill passed 68-28 in the House, where Tennessee Republicans rejected several Democratic amendments. Four Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the new law.

"What you're doing is you're creating a deterrent," said the bill's sponsor, State Rep. Ryan Williams, before the vote, according to the Associated Press.

Protesters shouted "blood on your hands" after the bill was passed and were removed from the room by state troopers.

"These are dangerous laws and scary times in [Tennessee]," wrote Democratic State Rep. Justin J. Pearson in a post on X.

Fifty-four percent of teachers believe arming teachers will make schools less safe, according to a report by the Rand Corporation. The 2023 survey also found that white teachers were more likely than Black teachers to believe that teachers carrying firearms would make schools safer, and male teachers in rural schools said they were most likely to carry a gun if permitted to by the school.