Schools Take Aim At Firearm Safety And Education Programs

Did you know that, before the 1970s, firearms and hunter-safety courses were a normal part of the nationwide grade school curriculum? It’s true and makes sense in a country whose Founding documents recognize the inherent right to self-preservation through the Second Amendment. It’s also not difficult to guess where these programs have gone, with political polarization robbing American youth of valuable lessons and substituting that education with propaganda and fear-mongering. By the early 2000s, American children throughout most of the country could not imagine firearm training in their schools, however, a new trend has emerged, with states jumping on board to make this education available to, and sometimes mandatory for, American students.

2025 legislative sessions have revealed the trend across the country, with states recognizing the importance and the benefit of reintroducing firearms education to address the vital knowledge gap created when the programs were originally extinguished. Of course, Democrats only cry about safety when it comes to banning firearms because they don’t really care about the well-being of children so much as they value a disarmament agenda which will ironically find them subjugated and without a seat at the table when the music stops. But that is the nature of useful idiots. 

Utah is one of the states that will make gun safety courses mandatory for students, with Governor Spencer Cox signing HB 104 into law earlier this year. The measure will see children learn about gun safety as early as kindergarten and through the twelfth grade. 

“A lot of times when they don’t have any firearms in their homes or don’t do any hunting and shooting, then these kids are not taught what to do when they come in contact with a firearm,” according to the bill’s sponsor, Republican Representative Rex Shipp, of Cedar City, Utah.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, HB 4285 mandates that a firearm safety program be developed and made available to students in the sixth through twelfth grades, teaching everything from the various types of firearm platforms and how they are used to safe handling and hunting practices. 

“This optional course would offer kids a wonderful opportunity to learn the important lessons of firearm safety, the tradition of hunting and Michigan’s great outdoors… On a personal level, I hope these classes could be especially valuable to students who might not grow up in families with hunting traditions,” says Michigan Senator Jon Bumstead, the bill’s sponsor. 

Act 229 was signed into law in March by Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, requiring age-appropriate firearms safety courses to begin this year in public and open-enrollment public charter schools throughout the state. 

“Let’s remove the unknown factor… Let’s make sure we portray it as what it really is, that it is a firearm … and make sure that they know how to appropriately respond by going and alerting an adult that that situation exists,” says Arkansas Representative and lead sponsor Scott Richardson.

Kansas also aims to make firearms safety education a standard throughout its school districts with the help of HB 2104. The state’s board of education will be responsible for establishing curriculum guidelines for each grade level no later than April 1, 2026. Public schools would be allowed to offer hunter safety courses for students in the sixth through twelfth grades and will have the option to use the NRA’s Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program for kindergarten through fifth grade. Because the goal is to promote safety and teach students how to properly react to an unattended firearm, schools will be responsible for ensuring all students have an opportunity to participate in the program. 

“History and experience show that education must be encouraged, not suppressed. The anti-firearm zealots have weaponized firearm safety education and it is tragic. They cannot be suppressed and discouraged due to the political agendas of the most radical elements in our society,” according to Darren LaSorte from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

Tennessee has also taken action to educate students on firearms safety protocol passing HB 2882 in 2024 which requires local education agencies and public charter schools to provide students with age and grade-appropriate instruction on firearm safety. While the bill was being considered, a proposed amendment allowing parents to opt their children out of the lessons failed to proceed. 

“It is purely and simply a measure to put safety in terms of what a child can understand, it’s age-appropriate education… There is no reason to have anyone opt out of that,” said Tennessee Representative John Ragan.

With one side of the aisle focussing on education while the other side peddles fear and anti-American authoritarianism, the picture becomes clear concerning intent. The message Democrats are pushing is that you should give up your rights because the world is a scary place and only when they strip all Americans of their right to self-preservation can you rest easy. This actually makes zero sense, but the left preys on stupidity and weakness. Conservatives, in the meantime, promote education and training, so Americans don’t need to feel afraid and remain prepared to defend themselves, their loved ones, and their home while practicing safety and learning valuable life skills. Is it me, or does one of these philosophies read far more healthy than the other?