>>> A FEW MOMENTS AGO, I TOLD YOU ABOUT A NEWLY SIGNED LAW IN TENNIS THE THAT MAKES IT LEGAL TO ARM TEACHERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN AN EFFORT TO REDUCE SHOOTINGS IN SCHOOLS. THAT MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? I'M JOINED BY TWO GUN SAFETY ADVOCATES WHO YOU MAY RECOGNIZE FROM FIERCE PROTEST LAST YEAR FOLLOWING A SCHOOL SHOOTING WERE SIX PEOPLE WERE KILLED. DEMOCRATIC STATE REPRESENTATIVES JUSTIN JONES AND GLORIA JOHNSON. THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US THIS MORNING AND YOUR CONTINUED FIGHT FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR'S TENANTS AND CITIZENS. REPRESENTATIVE JONES, YOU POSTED THAT HOUSE SPEAKER CAMERON SEXTON IS GROWING DRUNK WITH POWER AND WE ARE, QUOTE, WITNESSING THE DEATH OF DEMOCRACY IN LIGHT OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS BOAT. TELL ME ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE HAPPENING HERE. YOUR STATE SURPRISED ME AGAIN IN THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF OPTIONS IN BETWEEN DOING NOTHING AND SOMETHING, AND THEY SEEM TO HAVE SKIPPED THROUGH ALL OF THE MORE PRODUCTIVE POSSIBILITIES AND WENT FOR THE FAIRLY ABSURD ONE. >> THIS IS A VERY SAD TIME FOR TENNESSEE. THE TRAUMA OF OUR COMMUNITY IS ONCE AGAIN COMING TO THE SURFACE, BECAUSE OUR REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES DECIDED TO PUSH FORWARD AND PUSH THROUGH THIS ASININE AND INSANE BILL TO ARM TEACHERS AS A GALLERY WAS FULL OF TEACHERS, MOTHERS, TEACHERS, CLERGY, BEGGING THEM NOT TO. INCLUDING FAMILIES WHO HAVE LOST LOVED ONES IN SHOOTINGS HERE IN NASHVILLE. THE REPUBLICANS PUSH THIS BILL FORWARD BY CUTTING OFF DEBATE AND THEN HAVING THE GALLERY CLEARED OF THE PUBLIC AND MEDIA , AND THAT THERE'S BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS. THEY HAD ME CENSURED FOR RECORDING MIKE AND THAT YOU AND, AND I SET ONLINE THAT THIS IS FASCISM. THIS IS A STEP AGAINST DEMOCRACY AND A STEP TOWARDS AUTHORITARIANISM AND THE SHAMEFUL TRAJECTORY OF ARMING OUR SCHOOLS AND PUTTING MORE GUNS IN SCHOOLS WHEN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BEGGING FOR A YEAR FOR COMMON SENSE GUN LAWS TO PROTECT KIDS. THE GOVERNOR HAS SPIT IN THE FACE OF THOSE FAMILIES. HE IS A COWARD AND SOMEONE IS GOING TO BE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HIS TREE. >> THERE WERE SUCH OTHER OPTIONS THAT WERE USED IN OTHER PLACES IN AMERICA THAT HAVE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT. THERE'S POSSIBLY NO BETTER EXAMPLE OF ANTI-DEMOCRATIC WORK THAN UNDERSTANDING HOW MANY TENNESSEANS AND AMERICANS SUPPORT COMMON SENSE GUN LEGISLATION AND DOING WHAT YOUR LEGISLATURE DID. I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO HAVE YOU ON THE SHOW ON FRIDAY NIGHT WHEN I HAD REPRESENTATIVE PEARSON ON, BUT I RAN A CLIP OF YOU IN THE HOUSE SORT OF EXPLAINING TO PEOPLE AS A FORMER EDUCATOR -- WE ASK A LOT OF TEACHERS. WE DON'T PAY THEM ENOUGH. WHAT WE DECIDED, BY THE WAY, THAT THEY ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS AND WE REALLY NEED THEM AND TRUST THEM. AND YET NOW YOU ARE ASKING THEM TO STRAP ON A PISTOL AS OPPOSED TO THE TYPE OF GUNS THAT ARE GENERALLY USED IN THESE ASSAULTS, WHICH ARE MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN A PISTOL. AND THEN YOU ARE ASKING AN EDUCATOR WHOSE JOB IT IS TO PROTECT KIDS TO MAYBE SHOOT AN ANOTHER KID. YOU MAY BE TARGETING SOMEONE WHO MAY BE HER STUDENT. HE MAY BE DOING SOMETHING BAD, BUT THAT'S NOT HOW TEACHERS ARE BUILT. >> ABSOLUTELY NOT. YOU PUT TEACHERS IN THAT SORT OF A SITUATION. WE KNOW IN A GUN BATTLE WITH TRAINED POLICE OFFICERS, THEY ONLY SHOOT WITH 18% ACCURACY. IMAGINE A TEACHER WITH FAR LESS TRAINING IN A SITUATION WHERE THERE ARE KIDS EVERYWHERE. WHEN YOU MESS, IT'S A CHILD THAT COULD BE KILLED. AND THE REALITY OF THIS IS WE HAVE DONE EVERYTHING AND WE WILL KEEP TRYING TO PREVENT THE GUNS FROM EVER GETTING INTO THE SCHOOLHOUSE DOOR. WE WANT THE GUNS DO NOT GET NEAR THE SCHOOLHOUSE DOOR. THEY ARE TRYING TO BRING THE GUNBATTLE INTO THE CLASSROOM. YOU KNOW, TEACHERS HAVE TO DO -- THEY ARE NURSES, THEY ARE SOCIAL WORKERS, THEY ARE COUNSELORS. AND NOW YOU EXPECT A SECOND GRADE TEACHER, IF SHE HEARS SOMETHING OUT IN THE HALL, TO LEAVE HER CLASSROOM TO GO CHECK ON IT? THESE GUYS HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT LIKE TO BE IN A CLASSROOM OR IN A SCHOOLHOUSE. AND THEY NEED TO START LISTENING TO TEACHERS. AND I CAN TELL YOU THE TEACHERS DID NOT COME TO THEM WITH THE LEGISLATION. EVERY MAJOR COUNTY HAS ALREADY SAID NO. SINCE THIS IS PERMISSIVE, WE ARE NOT ARMING TEACHERS. THEY SAID NO. NO ONE ASKED THEM FOR THIS BILL. >> THE QUESTION IS IS THAT -- IS IT LOBBIES THAT CONTINUE TO CAUSE THESE LEGISLATORS TO DO THINGS THAT ARE COMPLETELY NOT IN THE INTEREST OR DON'T HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THEIR VOTERS? >> EXACTLY. IF THE NRA AND THE TENNESSEE FIREARMS ASSOCIATION -- THAT IS EXACTLY WHO IT IS. THE LOBBYIST RUN THIS SHOW. WE NEVER SOUGHT BIGGER UNTIL THE LAST DAY OF SESSION WHERE THEY WERE GATHERED AROUND THE TV TO SEE IF WE GAVE THAT CORPORATE 1.8 BILLION DOLLAR TAX BREAK. I SAW ONE PERSON IN THE WHOLE LAST WEEK IN THE CAPITAL THAT WAS FOR ARMING TEACHERS. ONE PERSON, ONE DAY. TWO TIMES, STUDENTS HAD RALLIES THERE. THE PARENTS AND TEACHERS AND ALL THE PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT THEY WERE THERE EVERY DAY OF SESSION, AND THERE WERE A LOT OF THEM. >> REPRESENTATIVE JONES, REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON MAKES AN INTERESTING POINT. I SPOKE WITH SOMEONE FROM WILLIAMSON COUNTY LAST NIGHT WERE THERE SUPERINTENDENTS THAT, NO WAY. THERE ARE A LOT OF SUPERINTENDENTS AND SCHOOL BOARD COUNTIES IN TENNESSEE THAT I SAID NO WAY. SO THE GOVERNOR TRY TO SORT OF SAY, IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE FALL OF ROME. WE ARE NOT CHANGING ANYTHING. BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, UNLIKE ABORTION RIGHTS, A NUMBER OF YOUR COUNTIES AND SAID, THANKS FOR THE PERMISSION, WE ARE NOT GOING DOWN THIS ROAD. >> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT, AND I WISH THE GOVERNOR WOULD GIVE TENNESSEANS THE RIGHT TO HAVE THIS ON THE BALLOT. 70% WANT COMMON SENSE GUN LAWS, A BAN ON ASSAULT WEAPONS. THE MAJORITY OF TENNESSEANS ACROSS POLITICAL SPECTRUMS WANT THIS, THE GOVERNOR HAS NOT HEARD THEM. I'VE BEEN THINKING DEEP AND HARD ABOUT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT, AND I'VE BEEN HEARING FROM A LOT OF FAMILIES, PARENTS ARE AFRAID TO SEND THEIR KIDS TO SCHOOLS. I THINK WHAT THIS IS REALLY ABOUT IS THAT THE GOVERNOR IS MAD THAT HIS PRIVATIZATION OF SCHOOL BILL FAILED THE SESSION. I WANT TO CONNECT THE DOTS BETWEEN THIS PROLIFERATION OF GUNS AND THEIR ATTACK ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WHAT WAS THE THING THEY DID TO TRY TO PRIVATIZE OUR SCHOOLS? WERE GOING TO PUSH THROUGH THIS BILL ON TEACHERS. AND OUR PARENTS ARE SCARED TO SEND THEIR KIDS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. I REALLY THINK THAT'S THE PREMISE OF THIS LEGISLATION. >> I DON'T WANT MY KIDS GOING TO A PLACE WHERE THERE IS MORE GUNS IN MY SCHOOL'S. IT IS REMARKABLE WHAT YOU HAVE BOTH DONE AND YOUR OTHER COLLEAGUES HAVE DONE FOR DEMOCRACY AND FOR STANDING UP FOR IT. THEY TELL ME THERE'S NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE GETTING INVOLVED IN POLITICS. IT'S ALL CORPORATIZED AND ALL OF THAT. I POINT TO YOU, TENNESSEE THREE, TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE
