Joel Ebert

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Private K-12 schools and higher education institutions in Tennessee would have the ability to create policy that would permit qualified people to carry handguns in all buildings and on all campuses owned and operated by the private school, according to a newly filed bill by Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville.

The legislation, which was filed on Monday, would require the chief administrative officers of private K-12 schools and higher education institutions to set a policy on carrying handguns on the property and buildings of each school and institution.

According to the legislation, qualified persons include anyone not prohibited from possessing a handgun and who also has a valid Tennessee handgun carry permit.

Although Bell's legislation would not require a private school to allow all qualified people the ability to bring their guns into a building, it would mandate the school's chief officer to create a policy. The private institutions are given the ability to decide who is allowed to carry a weapon on the premises.

Bell told The Tennessean the bill is not a direct reaction to state Attorney General Herbert Slatery's opinion that was issued last September in which the attorney general said people can't bring guns to a church, religious entity or private school if the property is being used for a school event.

AG: No guns at private schools, school events at church

Bell said his legislation closes a gap that exists, pointing to the fact that the state pays for security at the University of Tennessee yet a private institution is not able to hire a private security company.

"It treats private schools like private businesses," Bell said.

Bell's legislation is among several gun-related bills ranging from decreasing lifetime fees to permitless carry that have been introduced in the run-up to lawmakers' return to Nashville for the 2016 legislative session.

One bill, filed by Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, on Jan. 6 and originally introduced by Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, late last year, would reduce the fee for a lifetime handgun permit.

The lifetime permit, which was first introduced by lawmakers in 2015, currently has a fee of $500. The proposed legislation would reduce the fee to $200.

Beavers said the move is necessary to ensure the funds collected are only going toward covering costs for background checks.

“When people are paying more it becomes a tax on the permit holders,” Beavers said.

The bill makes no other changes to the lifetime fee requirements. People with such permits would still have to undergo background checks every five years.

Last week, Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, filed a bill that would allow anyone 21 or older not prohibited by law from owning a gun to carry a handgun without a permit and allow them to travel to the same places as someone with a permit.

Should lawmakers pass such legislation, Tennessee would join about a half dozen other states, including Arizona, Arkansas and Kansas, that are considered constitutional carry states.

Proponents say the term derives from the Second Amendment, which does not permit any restriction or regulation of gun ownership. Opponents say the permitting process ensures gun carriers are given proper training and a background check before they can carry a gun.

Beavers, who filed a similar bill in 2015 that ended up failing to make it out of a House committee, said she’s hopeful the bill will become law this year.

On Monday, Sen. Douglas Overbey, R-Maryville, introduced a bill that would exempt honorably discharged and retired veterans from firing range and classroom training requirements. The discharge date or retirement would have to be within five years of when the veteran is seeking their handgun permit.

Two other gun bills were previously filed in recent months.

One, introduced in December, seeks to prevent private citizens from attaching a gun, rocket launcher or any other similar weapon to a drone. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Byrd, R-Waynesboro, would allow law enforcement officials to use drones with weapons.

Tennessee bill would ban guns on drones, except for police

Another bill, introduced in August and sponsored by Sen. Lee Harris, D-Memphis, and Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, is intended to clear up the “guns in parks” law.

Bill would exempt music, sports sites from 'guns in parks' law

The proposed legislation would create an exemption to the law for ticketed events at public parks and sites used by professional sports teams.

All six of the bills are expected to be among a slew of gun-related legislation that will be addressed when the General Assembly reconvenes.

John Harris, executive director for the Tennessee Firearms Association, estimated as many as 30 to 50 gun bills could be introduced during the 2016 session.

Tennessee Republicans criticize Obama gun action

Beavers said some of the bills that will be introduced this year will be to clarify specific aspects of already existing law.

Last year a variety of gun bills were introduced, including an attempt to eliminate local bans on guns in parks and a bill to remove the state’s requirement for a background check to get a gun.

The state of gun legislation in Tennessee

Some of the bills, including one that would have allowed handgun permit holders to have their guns in the same places as off-duty police, died in committee. Others, such as the lifetime permit legislation, were signed into law.

Tennessee has more than 529,000 valid handgun permit holders, according to state records.

In 2014, there were more gun deaths than motor vehicle deaths in 21 states, including Tennessee, according to an analysis by the Violence Policy Center, a national educational organization seeking to stop gun deaths and injuries, released on Monday.

Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the organization determined Tennessee had 1,020 gun deaths and 1,000 motor vehicle deaths in 2014.

When asked for a comment on the report, Beavers once again stressed the public’s desire to own a gun for purposes of personal protection.

“People want to feel like they can protect themselves,” she said.