A new bill in the Utah state legislature could have students in the state learn about firearm safety while in the classroom as early as kindergarten.
The Republican-controlled state House passed the measure in a 59-10 vote on Friday, sending the bill to the state’s Senate.
State Rep. Rex Shipp is the bill’s Republican sponsor, and he shared that the bill’s purpose is to prevent accidental shootings by and of young children. He added that if the bill becomes law, lessons that would be taught would be age-appropriate, changing as kids get older.
Lessons for the youngest learners in the state, who would be around five years old, would involve learning to avoid touching a gun and alerting adults immediately after finding one.
“A lot of times when they don’t have any firearms in their homes or don’t do any hunting and shooting, then these kids are not taught what to do when they come in contact with a firearm,” Shipp said.
While Shipp shares the positives that the bill could bring, some raised concerns about the measure, questioning whether or not it places an undue burden on children.
“Safe Storage is the responsibility of the gun-owning parent, not the child. These kid training programs have been shown to be ineffective. If you really love your family, you will lock up your guns!” the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah said in a Facebook post.
Barbara Gentry, who works for the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah, shared a similar sentiment with The Associated Press.
“Guns and gun safety are the responsibility of the adult gun owner, not school children,” Gentry said. “We support schools sending home materials to parents outlining the importance of safe storage in keeping our families and schools safe from gun violence.”
However, advocates for gun violence prevention have praised the bill, which would make it mandatory for students to receive gun safety instruction throughout their time in grade school.
Lessons would be presented by an instructor with an actual firearm or through a video, helping display the best practices for handling and storing a gun to prevent accidents from occurring. If it passes through the Republican-led Senate, the instruction would start as early as next school year.
While another Utah statute allows for firearm safety to be taught in schools, Shipp says teachers don’t currently do so. While his bill would make it mandatory, he says there is an option for parents to opt their kids out of the instruction if they aren’t comfortable.
Tennessee is the only other state with a similar law. It requires firearm safety training in public schools but lets education officials determine the grade they want to start instruction.