Legislators in North Carolina have introduced a bill that would allow high school students to select firearms education as an elective course.
The bill, known as House Bill 612, would make the firearms course available to students in the 2017-2018 school year.
It is a “comprehensive firearm education course” that would “incorporate history, mathematics and science related to firearms and firearm safety education as recommended by law enforcement agencies or a firearms association.”
Via Bearing Arms:
A new piece of legislation introduced in North Carolina aims to give high school students a little extra learning: firearms education.
House Bill 612, filed this week by Representative Jay Adams, would give the state room to develop a firearms education course and allow the class, which would include “firearms safety education as recommend by law enforcement agencies or a firearms association”, to be offered as an elective to high school students.
Now before anti-gun zealots fly off the handle, the course will not involve actually firing a gun – it is solely designed to teach students about safety.
Bearing Arms reports that the course “would not allow live ammunition in the classroom and would also cover the history and mechanics of firearms with a firm emphasis on the importance of gun safety.”
A qualified adult instructor would be chosen by each school’s principal.
Gun opponents and advocates alike should be all in support of such a program, as gun safety is of such import no matter how you fell about the Second Amendment politically.
One Charlotte resident explained his support for the course.
“I think education, first and foremost, is essential, before actually obtaining a firearm,” Charlotte resident Allen Shaw said.
“If they have the opportunity to buy, they should have the opportunity to be educated,” he added. “We’ve got too many people out there right now that are wanting to buy guns that don’t have any background with them.”
Still, controversy predictably surrounds the thought of weapons education in a school setting.
“I don’t think school is the place for that to be taught,” one mother told WNCN. “I think we should focus on math and English.”
What do YOU think? Should firearms training be an elective course in high schools? Tell us what you think below.
