Williamson County’s school district plans to put up temporary signs banning firearms in local parks when students are on site. The school board voted Wednesday in a special-called meeting to spend as much as $6,000 on moveable signage.
Administrators believe a federal gun restriction on school property would still be enforceable, even if the legislature opens all parks to handgun carriers with permits. The state proposal still hasn’t been signed into law. But Williamson County superintendent Mike Looney says he wants to be prepared.
“We don’t want our athletes or our spectators or the public at large to be inconvenienced by our not being ready, so we are going to be ready,” Looney said.
Williamson County has been one of the first school systems to act in response to the guns-in-parks legislation. In recent weeks, the board discussed building additional athletic facilities so the district could stop using city parks.
“We have the opportunity to lead the conversation and lead the preparation efforts,” Looney said.
Other superintendents have been calling Looney for advice. Many schools use parks almost as an extension of their campus. Some in Nashville are located within the boundaries of a city park. It’s unclear whether guns would be allowed in those parks, even if the NRA-backed proposal becomes law.
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