NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Covenant School mother Mary Joyce is thrilled that bills she and other covenant moms support have moved forward.
She’s thankful that some lawmakers are moving across party lines and voting in her favor.
“It felt like a relief that finally someone is listening...that Tennesseans don’t want to see more guns in their schools around their babies," Joyce said.
Joyce is referring to the hours she spent in committee Wednesday evening. Lawmakers discussed House Bill 7064, a bill that would have increased the number of people allowed to bring handguns into public education spaces.
When the bill failed, the crowd erupted in applause.
“We want what’s best for our children. That’s why we’re here, and we are going to turn this pain into progress. We’re not going to stop,” Joyce said.
But pushing forward doesn’t mean there are never steps backwards.
“We have a lot of survivors guilt,” Joyce said. “We all had the same feeling running up the hill on Hillsboro that day. Going into that church. That uncertainty, not knowing if our child was alive or not.”
Joyce said her daughter has clear memories of the March 27 shooting.
“She remembers the sound of the gun going off in their classroom,” Joyce said. “She remembers the smokiness of the classroom from all the gunfire and gun smoke. She’s nervous that someone’s going to get into the school right now, and we have all of metro Nashville PD parked out front.”
Joyce said she knows it could be a while before bills on types of firearms, like the one used in the Covenant School shooting, could be introduced at the Capitol. However, the events of this week have given her hope in the legislature.
“There was nothing we as parents could have done," she said. "And that’s why we’re not going to stop because we do have an opportunity that none of us want. But we have an opportunity to change and protect our children. To pass common sense, easy rules around gun safety.”