Missouri first-graders could see an addition to their curriculum under a bill given first-round approval in the Missouri Senate.
The measure endorsed Tuesday would give school districts the option to teach a National Rifle Association-sponsored gun safety program to students in first grade. It would also allow schools to implement a training program for teachers and other personnel on responding to intruders.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Dan Brown, of Rolla, originally would have required schools to adopt both programs. But opposition from Democratic senators caused Brown to make the training and gun safety course optional.
Democrats want to make greater knowledge about firearms to avoid accidents “optional” for those families who wish to not educate their children on how to stay safe.
When did gun safety stop being taught in schools? I ask this genuinely because when I was in junior high in the 90s we were required to take a hunter’s safety course. It was a basic course which emphasized firearms safety (don’t play with guns, what to do if you’re at a friend’s house and you come across a loaded firearm, wear your orange out in the woods during deer and turkey season, etc, etc.). Were those programs simply phased away?
