(NewsNation) — A Tennessee bill allowing teachers to carry concealed handguns in classrooms is headed to the governor’s desk. However, one security expert thinks using artificial intelligence instead would keep kids safer.
The passage of the law comes a year after the state’s deadliest school shooting at The Covenant School, where six people were killed, including three students.
Despite a passionate plea from parents and thousands of signatures opposing the bill, Tennessee lawmakers passed the measure Tuesday.
AI can be used instead of guns: Expert
One leading expert told NewsNation that schools should be using technology, not teachers, to keep kids safe.
Hussein AbuHassan, a father of two and a security expert, is the founder of LENX AI, an AI weapon detection communication system that he believes is better suited to protect communities.
“It’s a big step for the teachers to start acting like a police officer. I think the students are not going to be comfortable, personality,” AbuHassan said. “I wanted to do something to prevent and safeguard the community as much as that’s possible by giving alerts, giving information and giving notifications to the people. It’s smarter, faster and acts immediately.”
AbuHassan said his system utilizes AI to detect a weapon, alert authorities in seconds and send the location of the shooter not just to the police, but to the phones of every teacher and security guard in that school.
Tennessee’s teacher concealed carry bill
Tennessee is not alone in allowing teachers to carry guns. More than half of all states have some law allowing teachers and other school employees to carry concealed guns on campus, according to the Giffords Law Center.
In Tennessee’s case, not just any teacher can carry. They’ll have to get a permit, undergo annual training, pass an FBI background check, get clearance from the school’s principal and local law enforcement and complete a psychological evaluation.
Parents and other teachers wouldn’t know who is armed. The bill would be Tennessee’s largest expansion of gun access since last year’s shooting.
Supporters of the bill, including one of its sponsors, said it will protect students and possibly deter potential shooters.
“One of the biggest questions that people ask me all the time … (is) have you done everything you can possibly do to make our school safe across the state? I believe this is a method by which we can do that because what you’re doing is you’re creating a deterrent,” Republican state Rep. Ryan Williams said.
As lawmakers voted Tuesday, protesters packed the corridors of the state Capitol, some chanting slogans like “Blood on your hands!”
Gov. Bill Lee has indicated his support for arming teachers in the past. It remains unclear when he will sign the bill, but it’s certain to become a law.
However, the number of opponents to the bill keeps climbing. A statewide letter written by parents of students at The Covenant School in Nashville has received more than 5,700 signatures.