The Tennessee Legislature and Stone Cold Steve Austin

Tennessee House of Representatives. (Photo: John Partipilo)

I have a few guilty entertainment pleasures and reruns of 1990s professional wrestling are near the top of the list.

Growing up a skinny, religious teenager, there was nothing I’d have rather lived vicariously through than muscled-up, anti-authoritarian wrestlers who did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. And, no other wrestler personified the rebellious nature of the business in the 90s like Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Austin’s character was a beer-swilling, swagger-strutting anti-hero who would show up anywhere and anytime he wasn’t pleased with what was taking place in the ring, his arrival punctuated by the sound of shattering glass. Before he ever threw a punch or kick, he’d signal his displeasure with an adversary by using a universal sign that epitomized disrespect: a middle finger raised proudly, inches away from his opponent’s face. 

The character of Stone Cold was built around his opposition to an evil, authoritarian regime, which made it easy for him to be a crowd favorite. But what happens when the roles are reversed and the disrespect involves real-life issues? What happens when a group drunk with power refuses to acknowledge the concerns of the people and simply raises a symbolic middle finger to their constituents? We all saw that play out during the last few days of the 113th General Assembly.

For over a year, Tennesseans have been begging state lawmakers to pass some semblance of common-sense gun reform. On the heels of the Covenant School mass shooting in March 2023, Gov. Bill Lee called a special session that was held in August that gave hope of passing extreme risk protection laws. Instead, the Senate did nothing while the House banned signs and restricted debate. 

During the special session, Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson, proposed a bill that would have allowed some school employees to carry firearms in schools. This measure was met with strong opposition from gun reform groups across the state as well as concerned parents from The Covenant School. 

The bill never reached Lee’s desk for approval due to the Senate’s inaction.

Unfortunately, like Stone Cold’s middle finger, the bill was disrespectfully raised again during the most recent session and passed quickly to the governor’s desk for a signature. It was one of the most insolent acts of virtue-signaling by the state GOP in recent memory, and that’s saying a lot.

In a state where the leading cause of death among school-aged children is gun violence, the answer by Republican lawmakers  to the gun problem is to introduce MORE guns into a space that is often crowded, chaotic, and unpredictable: a school building. With votes falling along party lines, HB1202 and SB1325 passed, allowing teachers to carry concealed handguns on school property without giving notice to parents. 

With a swift stroke of his pen, Lee joined GOP legislators in raising a symbolic middle finger to educators across the state and parents of school kids — not just Covenant parents — who have begged lawmakers not to pursue this course of action. 

I’ve spent nearly two decades in the public education system in Tennessee, both in a teaching and administrative capacity. I’ve worked in schools that were run efficiently and formulaically and in schools that were anything but. Regardless of how organized or disorganized a school building is, under no circumstance should a teacher or other school employee be armed with a gun. The environment is chock full of variables, and the children housed in the building are too precious.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin was built around his opposition to an authoritarian regime. But what happens when the roles are reversed and the disrespect involves real-life issues? What happens when a group drunk with power refuses to acknowledge the concerns of the people?

While everyone is well aware of the increase in school shootings and mass shootings over the last two decades, the number of accidental shootings by children has also increased. According to Everytown Research and Policy, 2023 saw the highest number of unintentional shootings by children since Everytown began tracking this type of data in 2015. Even when there is no intent to harm or inflict violence, guns have the potential to be weapons of suffering and death. The introduction of firearms into spaces where they previously weren’t allowed will only increase the probability of children being hurt or killed.

Opponents of this legislation point to the fact that there is no discernible data that shows putting guns in the hands of teachers makes schools any safer than they are now. And even if there were mounds of data showing the opposite — that arming teachers made students more susceptible to injury or death — Republicans in Tennessee stopped listening to their constituents’ concerns about gun safety a long time ago, opting instead to worship the golden calf of the Second Amendment. 

In the end, school districts will have the final say in whether or not school personnel will be allowed to carry firearms on campuses. Thankfully, many districts (including mine) have already publicly stated their opposition, reducing the law to nothing more than a signal pandering to the hyper-conservative voting bloc of the party. 

Unfortunately, what’s virtuous to a razor-thin slice of the population is nothing more than a middle finger to Tennesseeans who want meaningful change in our state. 

The post The Tennessee Legislature and Stone Cold Steve Austin appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.