Gun safety is an assortment of guidelines and recommendations that can be applied when possessing, storing, or handling firearms. The purpose of gun safety is to eradicate or diminish the risks of unintentional death, harm or damage triggered by improper possession, storage, or treatment of firearms. Gun education for children should start at home, but not all parents are equally knowledgeable about gun safety rules and regulations. All children K-12 should have an equal chance to learn about gun safety and the laws incorporated with firearms; therefore optional firearm education and training courses should be offered by schools.
Firearm education and training courses should be an optional course offered in the same manner that sexual education courses are made accessible by schools. Gun education and training courses for students should be available for every student, but be discretionary to only the students who have written parental consent. These courses should also be designed around different age groups, offering different course material that is suitable for the mentality and maturity of the children. The courses should be broken into three different levels, kindergarten through fourth grade, fifth through eighth grade, and ninth through twelve grade.
The first stage of gun education in schools will be designated for children ranging from kindergarten to fourth grade. These programs will not be designed to instill whether guns are good or bad, they will be intended to promote the protection and safety of children. There will be no firearms used in the program, and the lessons will not condone promoting firearm ownership or use. It will also get students to release guns and take action in the same manner that they would have any other harmful American household item like chemicals, electrical shock, and medicines. This program should be perceived as an avoidance type of program helping to prevent the intentional carrying and use of guns. The main message children should learn is if they see a gun, stop, do not touch, leave the area and tell an adult.
The second stage of gun education in schools will be designated for children ranging from fifth to eighth grade. These programs will integrate the educational history of firearms along with hands on training. Students will learn about the evolution of small arms and the unbiased impacts that they have had on history. They will also be informed of the second amendment and their constitutional right to keep and bear arms. For the first time students will be introduced with hands on training using non-functional replica guns that will help students understand the proper handling and care of a gun. These hands on courses will be entwined with a hunter's safety course, which is more than your average firearm safety course. Instruction will include ethics and responsibility, wildlife identification, conservation and wildlife management, survival and first aid, special hunting and tree stand safety. This will allow students under the age of 16 to legally hunt with an adult, and help them to become more comfortable with the general idea of firearms and the act of using guns.
The last stage of gun education in schools will be designated for young adults ranging from the ninth to twelfth grade. This particular program will teach students the actual detailed state and federal laws regarding firearms. The course will include a concealed weapons class, where students learn the basic knowledge, skills, and attitude for owning and operating a pistol safely. The students will have to undergo a set amount of hours learning in a classroom environment, which is then followed by a written test. Once the written test is passed then the students will have to pass a shooting qualification test before the course is completed. Once the course is completed then the students will be able to obtain their right when they become of legal age to carry a concealed weapon.
All in all, optional gun safety courses should be integrated into our nation's educational systems. The main objective in mind is to provide a safer learning environment where students are able to develop a lifelong set of skills and knowledge.