So What Do You Think About Gun Safety Classes in VA Elementary Schools?

[Anonymous]

A good or a bad thing?


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/20/AR2010042003752.html?hpid=sec-educat

[Anonymous]

Another reason I won't be moving to Virginia any time soon.

[Anonymous]

Good, well, at the people in VA will not jam their guns when they are shooting each other. And then will clean it properly. Something tells me, they already know how.

Love VA, getting to what is essential in education! GUNS BABY!

[Anonymous]

OP here. I feel the same way but wonder about my logic. I feel like the arch conservatives who don't want sex ed taught in schools because it might increase promiscuity. I have a son who's obsessed with guns, while our family in general is anti-gun. My initial reaction is I don't want him around guns or exposed to them unneccessarily, but also realize it's a perfectly reasonable argument that he is exactly the type of child who needs that type of training.

However, I live in MoCo, so it's not a direct issue for us.

[Anonymous]

I think teaching basic gun safety -- if you see a gun, walk away, don't pick it up; NEVER point a gun at anyone; never assume a gun is not loaded -- should be taught and I feel it is appropriate to teach it in elementary school as a part of health/safety -- same as stranger danger, just say no to drugs, good-touch/bad touch, stop-drop-and-roll/fire safty, bus safety, and so on.

I object to the mandate that ONLY the materials developed by the NRA should be used. Any appropriate curriculum should be used, and school districts should be able to decide for themselves which curriculum, unless the state of VA wants to come up with its own. But the NRA is a pro-gun lobbying group. They have an agenda to promote, and not everyone shares their agenda. They shouldn't be given access to kids in this way.

[Anonymous]

I'm the 10:24 poster.

I take it back. I read the proposal and they say that the Board of Ed should develop a gun safety program, including the concepts in the NRA Eddie Eagle Gun Safety program.

The Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program for kids grades k-3 looks perfectly acceptable to me. I wouldn't have any problems with my kids learning it in elementary school.

http://www.nrahq.org/safety/eddie/

[Anonymous]

I'm for it.

Any means of preventing gun accidents is a plus in my book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another reason I won't be moving to Virginia any time soon.

That's right there are no guns and gun crimes in DC. Much safer than Virginia.

[Anonymous]

My DD who is a third grader in FCPS already had gun safety at some point in her school. I want to say in second grade? It was very much a basic, if you see a gun don't touch it, run and tell an adult, etc. I think it's good, basic safety info.

[Anonymous]

@11:25 I don't live in DC.

You have to see what the real purpose of this is -- a political bone thrown to a major Republican donor whose objective is not gun safety but expanded gun laws.

[Anonymous]

My only fear is that this is coming too late. What about pre-elementary school kids?

My proposal is that as soon as a baby pops out of the womb in Virginia its wrinkled little finger should be wrapped around the trigger of an assault rifle by a card-carrying member of the NRA.

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!

USA! USA! USA!

[Anonymous]

Having actually read the articles, I'd support the program.

a) It is voluntary.
"The measure, approved during the legislature's recently concluded annual session, allows local school boards to choose whether to implement the program."

b) Guns are common in some parts of VA and safety is a concern for everyone.
"The bill was sponsored by Del. Lynwood W. Lewis Jr., a Democrat who represents rural Accomack County and part of the city of Norfolk. He said that he does not expect Fairfax County to offer gun safety courses but that some school divisions in rural parts of the state where hunting is common would probably choose the option."

3) Seems perfectly reasonable to teach a kid (based on the NRA Eddie Eagle program):
"If you see a gun: STOP! Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult."

I don't see how the NRA can have a secret agenda to get kids into guns if they're teaching kids to go tell an adult if they find a gun.

I lived in an area that on occasion unexploded WWII bombs would turn up. In elementary school we got similar instruction, "If you find something that looks like it might be a bomb, don't touch it. Go tell an adult immediately so they can call the bomb squad." Better the kids hear stories about people getting their arms blown off for touching a bomb than letting their curiosity get the best of them in the rare case they might actually encounter something dangerous. We also had deadly poisonous snakes...

[Anonymous]

I have heard that gun safety classes don't help. The minute a child is alone with a gun, he/she will pick it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:@11:25 I don't live in DC.

You have to see what the real purpose of this is -- a political bone thrown to a major Republican donor whose objective is not gun safety but expanded gun laws.

Ahh yes. People shouldn't be allowed to own guns because you're smarter than me and know what is good for me. I shouldn't be free to make my own decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:@11:25 I don't live in DC.

You have to see what the real purpose of this is -- a political bone thrown to a major Republican donor whose objective is not gun safety but expanded gun laws.

Ahh yes. People shouldn't be allowed to own guns because you're smarter than me and know what is good for me. I shouldn't be free to make my own decisions.

The thing is, it's not all about you. It's about the people out there shooting others in DC. It's not like people go hunting in Georgetown. There's only one target for that bullet and it's human.