Tennessee House Passes Bill to Arm Trained Teachers amid Protests and Performative ‘Die-In’ for Media Starring Rep. Justin Jones

Justin Jones

The Tennessee House of Representatives on Tuesday approved HB 1202, which would arm teachers who are licensed, receive annual training, and are approved by police and school officials.

Protests threatened to interrupt the legislative body’s proceedings multiple times, with State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and his staffers at times joining protesters in performative acts of opposition to the bill.

After the legislation passed with 68 votes in favor and 28 against, video surfaced of Jones with a group of protesters who held a “die in” at the Capitol to express their displeasure at the legislation.

Other video shows one of Jones’ staff members being escorted out of the Capitol by Tennessee State Troopers, though the man was later recorded back inside the building.

Jones was ruled out of order at least three times on Tuesday, including when he walked to the front of the assembly and used his phone to record lawmakers and protesters. Because he was repeatedly ruled out of order, Jones will not be allowed to speak on the House floor until Thursday.

The Democrat was also sanctioned by his colleagues due to his behavior on the House floor, but in a statement to NewsChannel 5, Jones argued that House Republicans were the ones who behaved inappropriately.

“I was not allowed to speak and debate was cut off prematurely,” Jones said. After accusing Republicans of misbehaving, he continued, “I am the only one who was officially ruled out of order for video recording my constituents being removed from the gallery by state troopers and now will be silenced for the next two days.”

The video Jones posted to social media seems to feature the lawmaker, or another person standing very close to him, chanting “Blood on your hands” with the protesters.

Video of the full event shows House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) repeatedly urging Jones to stop recording, as seen at about 1:51:00 in the video below.

HB 1202 was sponsored by State Representative Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville), and while it would arm some school teachers and faculty, its proponents previously highlighted the stringent requirements it imposes for guns to be carried on school property.

State Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta), who sponsored the version of the bill that already passed the Tennessee State Senate, predicted the requirements would lead to the legislation passing the General Assembly and receiving a signature from Governor Bill Lee.

In order to carry weapons on school grounds, he noted, “They must possess a valid handgun carry permit issued by this state, must be fingerprinted by the appropriate law enforcement agency, must pass a psychological evaluation.”

He noted school employees must then obtain “written authorization of the chief of the appropriate law enforcement agency” and annually complete “a minimum of 40 hours of training specific to school policing that has been approved by Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission.”

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Justin Jones” by Robby Starbuck.  

 

 

 

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10 Thoughts to “Tennessee House Passes Bill to Arm Trained Teachers amid Protests and Performative ‘Die-In’ for Media Starring Rep. Justin Jones”

  1. Randall Davidson

    People who lay in the floor, blocking access and movement in our capitol or anywhere should be arrested on the spot immediately. Tired of this crap. Don’t block our roads, or public places. Period.

  2. William Bruce

    Arming trained teachers to deal with the current dangers that threaten our school children is nothing more that just good common sense. It is the same kind of common sense that that our American founding fathers realized was necessary for a free state when they rallied around the concept of the Second Amendment. It is this kind of common sense that will keep us safe and free. But idiots, leftists, and Marxist dupes like Justin Jones want nothing to do with wise government or common sense. What they want is the destruction of our freedom and our safety. Please do not pay any attention to these clowns and their disruption in our state Capitol.

  3. Ron W

    Why did Justin Jones never call for the Capitol to be gun free by removing the Tennessee State troopers? He apparently is ok with and wants armed protection for himself, but not for kids, teachers and school staff. That’s the position of ALL anti-gun politicians. They want to take away from others what they have and keep for themselves! It’s a self-evident truth demonstrated down through history:
    ONLY YOUR ENEMY WANTS YOU DISARMED

  4. Joe Blow

    His misbehaving would be funny if he were not disrupting important business.

  5. Randall Davidson

    keep trying to remove this kid…..don’t stop…..

  6. Dave

    Looking forward to the days soon enough that this wont just be a performance, but reality when we rid this country of the varmint starting top down.

  7. D.J.

    Justina is such a drama queen.

  8. mikey whipwreck

    what a clown

  9. Tim Price

    Tennessee’s state government has turned into a Sh** Show!

  10. Steve Allen

    We couldn’t be that lucky.

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