Republican 2024 Candidates Call for More Law Enforcement in Schools After Tennessee Shooting

In response to a fatal school shooting in Tennessee, some of the leading Republican candidates for the 2024 presidential race are calling for more law enforcement in schools.

Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the candidates, asked why the criminal was able to enter the school in Nashville in the first place. He suggested abolishing the US Department of Education and using just a quarter of its budget to fund two to three armed marshals in every American public school to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The other Republican candidate, Nikki Haley, rejected calls from President Joe Biden to tighten gun ownership restrictions, stating that schools need to have a single point of entry and a law enforcement officer on campus. Haley also suggested expanding the use of metal detectors, which are already in place in some schools.

Former President Donald Trump, also a prominent Republican candidate, has not made any comments about the shooting.

Last week, six people were killed in a shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville. The shooter was a 28-year-old woman named Audrey Hale, who identified as male. Police officers fatally wounded Hale, who was armed with “assault-type rifles” and a handgun, according to Nashville officials.

‘Mental Health Condition’

Ramaswamy believes that gender dysphoria, which is when an individual identifies as a sex that is different from the one assigned to them at birth, should be classified as a mental health condition. He stated that more often than not, it is a sign of mental illness when someone identifies as a different gender.

The World Health Organization and other organizations used to classify gender dysphoria as a mental disorder, but many have stopped using that classification in recent years.

There is speculation that Hale’s identity may have motivated the shooting, but the police have not released the manifesto they obtained connected with the case.

Biden’s Response

President Joe Biden praised the police officers who confronted Hale and called for more action to stop gun violence. He proposed an assault weapons ban in Congress, which would outlaw a range of semi-automatic weapons. Critics argue that the ban would be an overreach and affect guns commonly used by millions of Americans.

The incident at the Covenant School has prompted Republican candidates to push for more law enforcement in schools, arguing that safeguarding children should be a top priority in the country.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.