Alphecca: Taking the Mystique Out of Firearms

February 19, 2006

Taking the Mystique Out of Firearms

Similar to one in Arizona, there's an attempt in Ohio to have an elective course in schools about gun safety, hunting, and the shooting sports. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

An effort is under way to add a course on gun safety and marksmanship to the state's curriculum for high schools, in essence using the schools to familiarize children with firearms. The lesson would be offered as a one-semester elective that could be used to satisfy graduation requirements.

The subject is essential for safety and cultural reasons, said State Rep. Ron Hood, who introduced the legislation in December. The bill has been assigned to the House's education committee for consideration.

[...]

The Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence called a potential relationship between schools and guns "a little bit obscene." The group's executive director, Toby Hoover, labeled the effort a ploy by the gun lobby to indoctrinate children in its beliefs.

Meanwhile, local educators said they can't fathom mixing weaponry with the classroom.

"I really think it's something that's better left in the hands of parents," said Bob Scott, superintendent of Avon Lake schools. "Even couched as gun safety, it would be too divisive. I don't know if it's the school's position to get involved."

I suspect that educators in the urban areas will go ballistic over the proposal -- even if they could find someone to teach the class and a range to use -- just on liberal principles. Others, in rural areas where hunting (and target shooting) are a way of life will shrug and say, "Good idea".

The reason for and the requirements of the course would be:

Total hunting licenses in the country dropped by 1.5 million - or 10 percent - between 1983 and 2003. The percentage decrease was even higher in Ohio over that period, as issued licenses dropped 13.4 percent, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Participation in other shooting sports also is dwindling, according to the foundation.

[...]

Minimum requirements outlined for the course proposed by Hood include instruction on gun safety and operation, practice time at a shooting range and lessons on the "role of firearms in preserving peace and freedom" and the constitutional right to bear arms.

I think it's a good idea for several reasons. First, it teaches high schoolers how to safely deal with any firearm they come across -- say at a friend's house.

Second, it sounds as if the importance of firearms in the history of our country will be a part of the curriculum and that alone is worth the price of admission.

Lastly, we do need more "recruits" to the shooting sports and to hunting. Anyone driving -- not just in rural areas anymore as housing developement spreads out -- knows there are simply too many deer out there. And as for other sports, it's sad that the US has never won a gold medal in the biathlon.

A program such as this would be the perfect follow-up to one taught to younger students such as the NRA's Eddie Eagle safety course that instructs them to never touch a gun they find but instead to tell an adult immediately.

Perhaps the best solution would be a bill that leaves such an elective implementation up to the individual school district. If they want such a program, great. If they don't, fine. Unfortunately, too many school boards are having to wrestle with mandates from both the federal and the state governments rather than leaving such issues and requirements where they belong; at the local level.

Posted by Jeff Soyer at February 19, 2006 09:42 AM

Comments

On the surface, I think this sounds great. Why not teach kids valuable information like gun safety. Especially when that is one of the loudest arguments anti-gunner-crowd (kids will find your gun and shoot themselves by mistake...don't keep guns... blah blah blah).

However, with the state of education in this country, so many kids have been failed by the education establishment in "learning" math, science, etc., maybe it is best to keep this out of our schools.

Posted by: Jay at February 19, 2006 12:03 PM

This is already a requirment in Texas. As far as I can tell, all school systems just ignore it.

Wouldn't airgun be a natural PE option? You could roll out a cart full of guns and shoot in the cafeteria of nearly any school in the country before/after lunch. Cheap. Easy. Safer than football, tennis, golf, jogging, shop class.....hell, probably safer than HISTORY.

Girls and boys. Shooting at school.

Posted by: robert at February 19, 2006 01:51 PM

Interesting, as so many parents shove off to the schools so many things that they should be doing. Sex ed and warnings on drugs, to name two. Anyone have others to add to the list?

Posted by: OldeForce at February 19, 2006 02:43 PM

Why whatever could the gun lobby be thinking? Wanting to indoctrinate students with the constitution, history, importance of freedom's tools, and responsibility. Why, why that flies directly in the face of all the indoctrination we have been doing to separate them from their heritage. Whatever is the matter with the people who don't aspire to slaveship? Damn, we just can't have our schools destroying years of scare mongering and denial of individual liberty in favor of collective subjugation. Why, the very idea!

The next thing you know, these kids will start to think they're somebody, they may even start to do their own thinking if we let them discover how we have lied and propagandized and done all in our power to keep them fat, dumb, happy and dependent. No, no, no.

Can't you just hear all that?

Posted by: straightarrow at February 19, 2006 11:31 PM

This subject is a tough one.

I grew up in SW Pennsylvania - a school district that closed school on the first day of deer season because 80% of the boys, 40% of the girls and most of the teachers wouldn't be there anyway. I was in high school during the 80's and it seemed like everyone I knew had guns in the house. That area hasn't changed much - so even today a class like that would be welcomed. But I'm not sure it would even be necessary. The kids would be better off learning something else. Most of them know about guns already.

Now, I live in SE Pennsylvania and my 13 year old son is in a school where he is in the minority as a hunter. I would guess that maybe 15-20% of the kids in his school hunt or even shoot at all. Here, the class would be fought by many parents and administrators. But here it would actually be useful.

Basically, I think the class would be fought against the hardest where it would be needed the most.

I do find it funny that an adminstrator in the story felt that firearm education would be best handled by parents. I wonder what his position on sex education would be? Should that be best handled by the parents also?

Posted by: Paul S at February 25, 2006 09:28 AM

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February 19, 2006

Taking the Mystique Out of Firearms

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