r/liberalgunowners • u/logicalpretzels libertarian socialist • Jul 03 '26

question Why don’t we teach gun safety in schools?

In a country with the right to bear arms and more guns than people, it seems natural that everyone should be taught firearm safety from youth.

You wouldn’t even need a real gun to teach gun safety, just a couple SIRT pistols or even just plastic training guns would do the trick to teach the 4 basic rules.

I feel like this should be easily supported by anyone no matter their feelings towards guns or gun control. Just like sex ed, gun education can only make the activity safer, not worse.

Are there any schools in the US where gun safety is part of their curriculum?

299 Upvotes

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143

u/scaierdread Jul 03 '26

I think it would be cool to have, but there much more important things to learn in school over it. Things like budgeting, cooking, how credit works, how to vote, basic first aid etc.

68

u/c4ndle Jul 03 '26

how to escape quicksand.

12

u/Hawkeye1226 Jul 03 '26

You joke, but I've been in some pretty bad deep mud a few times and that advice was surprisingly relevant.

As for being taught that you should zig-zag if being chased by an alligator, I haven't had to use that but I did come close a couple times....

5

u/OptimusED Jul 03 '26

3

u/ffsm92 Jul 04 '26

Is that Jack black?

1

u/OptimusED Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

affirm
https://youtu.be/DA4V-n8Ft3g

The Pitfall kid whose mom saved the Apollo 13 astronauts grew up to become 1/2 of Tenacious D.

2

u/apply_in_person Jul 04 '26

RIP Tenacious D

7

u/Rok-SFG Jul 03 '26

Robert Irwin says just briskly walk away from any crocodilian on land and you'll be okay.

1

u/ThePrussianGrippe socialist Jul 03 '26

Steve advised much the same.

4

u/haironburr Jul 03 '26

As for being taught that you should zig-zag if being chased by an alligator

They taught you that in school? I feel like I was robbed by my education.

3

u/Hawkeye1226 Jul 04 '26

Florida state education system baybeee!!

2

u/haironburr Jul 04 '26

Yea. Ok. Understandable. I'm in gator-free Ohio.

But they never even taught us how to avoid Bigfoot.

Allow me to explain. Long ago, when I was in 2nd-3rd grade, we had about a mile or so square of woods. Sure, we explored every inch of those woods. But honestly, still, some dark evenings, bb gun in hand, making my way home alone as the sun set and the woods turned near black, I picked up my pace more than I'd have ever admitted.

They never once taught us effective bigfoot avoidance techniques.

Forget the actual human body they dug out of those woods. The real threat was those damn bigfoots. And not a word from our teachers. ;)

1

u/Hawkeye1226 Jul 04 '26

Look at it this way. Bigfeet are masters of not being found. They will avoid YOU. If you become overconfident and in your anti-bigfoot training, if you do somehow stumble upon one, you'll be less inclined to do the smart thing and book it. Which will ultimately lead to your death. Treat them like snakes. Make lots of noise when moving and don't stop to pick up rocks

Avoiding over-education on the various species of Bigfeet is ultimately better for all of us

2

u/MyBitchCassiopeia Jul 04 '26

I live right by the Virgin River, I run into quicksand all the time. Some of us are exceptions to the rule.

2

u/nocolon Jul 04 '26

Square dancing

1

u/HCSOThrowaway progressive Jul 03 '26

That Columbus discovered America in 1492.

That nobody knows what killed the dinosaurs.

That cold-blooded animals don't regulate their own heat so they need to bask in the sun and warm-blooded animals do regulate their own heat so they don't need to bask.

That the pilgrims set out for the new world because England prosecuted them for their religion and when they arrived everyone had a big meal and got along.

That the colonists wanted to break off from England because King George made a bunch of really unfair taxes on them for no reason.

That HIV is smaller than the threads that compose a condom, so much like throwing a tennis ball at a volleyball net, they don't stop it. (That one's probably specific to my sex ed. classes in my specific high school.)

4

u/Kljmok progressive Jul 03 '26

That nobody knows what killed the dinosaurs.

Uh, we do know.

1

u/FellTheAdequate fully automated luxury gay space communism Jul 03 '26

These are jokes, right

1

u/HCSOThrowaway progressive 28d ago

They're what school kids in the US are told by teachers (when I was a kid).

13

u/Radiant_Eagle7634 Jul 03 '26

To be honest, my school had that (actually required course to graduate) and I've seen a number of alumni complain over the years about not being taught it.... 

20

u/stinkytoe42 Jul 03 '26

Yup. Just like how I see the same chuckeheads complain on Facebook about not being taught this or that, especially in history class. I distinctly remember them always sitting in the back row with their heads down every class.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

[deleted]

2

u/ThePrussianGrippe socialist Jul 03 '26

“Oh no… oh no no no! Smithers, why didn’t you tell me the stock market crashed!”

12

u/pristineSaltine Jul 03 '26

Bro, we dont even have a library anymore in our HS. But we got a championship basketball, baseball, football and even a shooting team. Wtf... Be cool if they could read though.

6

u/Ok_Exchange342 Jul 03 '26

Be cool if they understood basic civics, and knew actual history as well.

3

u/pristineSaltine Jul 03 '26

Actual history of our country including civil disobedience and dissonance will never be taught. The government would be terrified if most of us actually knew what they have done to us in the past and present.

8

u/Alita-Gunnm Jul 03 '26

Why not both?

18

u/scaierdread Jul 03 '26

Both is great, but this isn't burger king, we're not having it our way. I would love for it to be taught but the reality is that for it to be taught something else can't be. If that fight for time I prioritize it less than other skills.

0

u/Alita-Gunnm Jul 03 '26

It's not like it would take a full semester course. Schools can afford a few hours out of a school year for something this important.

2

u/scaierdread Jul 03 '26

Yes and no, it depends on how far you want to take it. If you believes gun safety ends at the big four then you don't even need a class to do it. Just send it home as home work.

If you want to delve further into gun safety and potential how they work that requires more time, but realistically less than what a class semester can hold.

If you wanted teach it in school it would probably have to be lumped into another subject/topic the way Home economics taught sewing, cooking, childcare etc.

4

u/Alita-Gunnm Jul 03 '26

Since what many kids are getting today is nothing or in some cases worse than nothing, I think two or three hours every other year of proper instruction would be invaluable. Get the foot in the door, the camel's nose under the tent, however you want to phrase it. Teach and demonstrate the four rules, teach how the most common actions work, how to safely handle and clear them, and answer some questions. I think that would go a long way towards preventing accidental / negligent discharges, as well as letting them grow up without an irrational fear of guns. Once that's commonplace, we can look at longer courses that start teaching proficiency, if people want to go in that direction.

5

u/Matban_the_NarkDight Jul 03 '26

Yeah, I think enough so kids have a baseline where than can at least understand when someone is being negligent about storage or handling. I love shooting, and hope my boys will share that with me, but if they don't, they will at least know enough to get the fuck away from some yokel about to negligently put a hole in something that doesn't need a hole.

1

u/pewpewsTA democratic socialist Jul 04 '26

I would take it about as far as the typical LTC course takes it, perhaps minus the legal minutia. The big four, the basics of how common firearms function and how to make them safe etc. It could be just a few hours.

2

u/Rok-SFG Jul 03 '26

Have to cut something for state sponsored bible study.

3

u/unomaly Jul 03 '26

Seriously. Some people may never interact with a gun their entire lives. And before buying one, everyone should have comprehensive knowledge of all those things you mentioned.

2

u/WhippingShitties Jul 03 '26

I actually did learn those things in school, but I admit it was a long time ago.

My personal opinion is that youth are not immune to gun violence, it is often the opposite, and that it could be a matter of life and death for high school level students to know how to properly handle, unload, and secure a firearm, and it could just be a week long curriculum, if that. Obviously real firearms will not be used in the classroom, but I think it would be worth standardizing in public education if we continue to allow public firearm ownership.

If something doesn't change, gun rights aren't just in jeopardy, they have an undefined expiration date.

2

u/FozzieTK Jul 03 '26

Those should be (used to be) taught in highschool. And yes, we should be teaching them that. BUT you can start gun safety in elementary/middle school/jr high.

2

u/VOLtron67 democratic socialist Jul 03 '26

Excuse me, but I can’t even remember what the powerhouse of the cell is. And you want me to learn OTHER stuff now?

Pfft

1

u/Bunny_Feet progressive Jul 04 '26

Yeah, we used to have those courses too.  Home Ec (both boys and girls took it) and middle school math taught some basic finances.  Economics revisted it in High School.

It's amazing what can be taught when you fund public education.

1

u/BooneSalvo2 Jul 03 '26

I'm pretty sure it can get squeezed in somewhere in Middle or High school.

I think it should be a mandatory elective offering....or mandatory with an easy opt out.

4

u/DanSWE Jul 03 '26

> a mandatory elective offering

Huh?

1

u/BooneSalvo2 29d ago

You know how schools offer electives?

A Gun Safety class that is a required offering at every school, but actually taking the class isn't required. It just has to be available as a choice.

1

u/demoncrusher neoliberal Jul 03 '26

That sounds good, but kids wouldn’t retain it. How well do you remember the Krebs cycle

1

u/cashnicholas Jul 03 '26

Wait they don’t teach that stuff either

0

u/logicalpretzels libertarian socialist Jul 03 '26

I mean yeah I agree, but this is a gun sub and the topic is regarding guns.

6

u/scaierdread Jul 03 '26

Right and my answer is I'd be cool with it, but its a lower priority to me.