Opinion
Oregon – -(AmmoLand.com)- Senate Bill 801 has been scheduled for a hearing on March 27th at 1PM in Hearing Room B in the Capitol. The Senate Committee on Education is hearing the bill.
The bill allows (but does not require) public and private schools to have a 30 minute class on firearm safety and accident prevention for first graders.
The class must be taught by a teacher, administrator, law enforcement agent or “first responder.” None of these people are required to be firearms instructors. “First responder” is not defined in the bill.
While the bill specifies what the curriculum must include, ie:
- (a) The proper steps a student should take upon encountering an unsecured firearm;
- (b) The differences between video game violence and real-life violence; and
- (c) The dangers of confusing toy guns and real guns.
– it does not have a prepared curriculum so this is left up to whoever is teaching the class.
While supportive of safety training for children, we believe that people who teach firearms safety should have a background in teaching firearms safety. There are probably not a lot of first-grade teachers with this kind of training.
This bill has enormous potential and the people behind it are dedicated to keeping kids safe, but it needs some work. We look forward to amendments to make this well-intentioned bill truly effective.
About Oregon Firearms Federation:
The Oregon Firearms Federation has proven itself to be Oregon’s only no compromise lobbying group, OFF takes the same tough stands and serves as a vehicle for educating gun owners, promoting their rights and when necessary, fighting the freedom haters in court. Visit: www.oregonfirearms.org