Thousands sign Covenant mom's letter against arming teachers in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Thousands of Tennesseans have signed an open letter to state legislators in opposition of a bill that would allow teachers to be armed in public schools.

The mother of a Covenant School shooting survivor, Sarah Shoop Neumann, wrote the letter addressed to the Tennessee General Assembly. According to a release, Neumann's son was five years old and enrolled in preschool at The Covenant School when a shooter came in and killed six people.

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HB1202/SB1325 would permit teachers with direct student responsibility as well as other school personnel to carry firearms on school property and in classrooms, without allowing parents or school staff other than the principal, to know who these individuals are. These individuals would be required to complete 40 hours of training.

Neumann took action after the Senate passed the bill. Neumann, acting in her own capacity, wrote the open letter to the General Assembly.

In the event of an active shooting, the main purpose of armed school security is to neutralize the threat and prevent loss of life and bodily harm. Anyone who hasn’t received extensive training, such as that provided to law enforcement officers, will likely be mentally unprepared to take a life, especially the life of a student assailant," Neumann wrote in the letter.

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As of Wednesday afternoon, the letter has more than 4,400 signatures. Those who signed the letter include public school parents, staff, teachers, leaders and residents across Tennessee.

Armed staff and civilians in schools are not law enforcement and complicate any law enforcement response to an active shooter, which puts students, teachers and staff at risk. The range of accuracy for an amateur shooter with a rifle, the weapon of choice for most school shooters, is greater than 100 yards leaving even a highly trained police officer at risk to be outgunned, much less an untrained civilian," Neumann wrote in the letter.

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Neumann is still collecting signatures and plans to deliver them to members of House Leadership this week. To see the petition click here.

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