Wisconsin Republicans have introduced legislation that would offer elective courses on gun safety in public schools. Guns and schools in the same sentence may make many Americans instinctively cringe, but the idea really isn’t too radical. The bill makes it clear that schools and students would be free to stay away from the firearm safety courses if they were uncomfortable with them. Wisconsin Democrats are opposing the legislation.
Wisconsin GOP introduces gun safety course bill
The courses offered to students under the proposal would not include real firearms and live ammunition being present in schools, which is prohibited by federal law.
Proponents argue that the classes would simply be an opportunity for students to learn about how to safely and responsibly handle firearms, this would prevent dangerous behavior, rather than encourage it.
The bill has almost no chance of passing, due to opposition from Democrats and the likelihood that Governor Tony Evers would almost certainly veto it even if the legislature approved.
Decades ago, Wisconsin students were encouraged to train with rifles, practicing for hunting in addition to learning gun safety and preparing themselves for potential futures in the military.
Prohibiting gun safety courses on school campuses has evidently done nothing to counter the school shooting trend, but those shootings have made guns at school a touchy subject.
Democrats who oppose the bill describe the idea of gun safety classes as both a waste of time and a source of more danger for schools in the state.
Democrats likely to kill the idea
The obvious response to this is to look at a country which actually encourages children to learn how to safely use firearms. Switzerland is probably the best example.
Mass shootings are practically unheard of in Switzerland and gun crime is uncommon. Swiss citizens learn to take guns seriously through extensive exposure to them.
The famed Swiss neutrality is secured by the nation’s militia tradition and conscription based military, which relies on a steady influx of proficient marksmen.
Switzerland is obviously a very different case than Wisconsin, but in parts of rural America guns are no less ubiquitous than they are in that country.
Those guns aren’t going anywhere, so it certainly makes good sense to at least offer courses to ensure that the people who handle them know what they are doing.
A knee-jerk response from Democrats will likely kill the Wisconsin bill, but both parties should have an interest in promoting firearms safety.