How can teaching gun safety in schools help prevent gun violence?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the implications of gun ownership on personal safety and gun violence prevention, particularly in the context of teaching gun safety in schools. Participants explore various perspectives on the effectiveness of firearms for self-defense and the societal impacts of increased gun ownership.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question how handgun ownership contributes to personal safety, likening it to ineffective protective measures.
  • Concerns are raised about the potential for increased illegal gun supply resulting from higher legal gun ownership.
  • Participants argue that the presence of a gun may not guarantee safety in a mugging situation, suggesting that it could escalate violence instead.
  • Others assert that having a gun could provide a sense of security and the ability to defend oneself, citing anecdotal evidence of successful self-defense cases.
  • Some express a belief that only law enforcement should carry handguns, arguing that more handguns in public could lead to increased danger.
  • There are claims that laws restricting gun ownership may leave law-abiding citizens at a disadvantage against criminals who do not follow the law.
  • Participants discuss the practicality of handguns compared to rifles and shotguns for personal defense, noting ease of storage and accessibility.
  • One participant references studies suggesting that states with increased gun ownership have seen drops in violent crime, though this is contested by others who highlight the risks of self-defense attempts.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on gun ownership and its implications for safety, with no consensus reached on the effectiveness of firearms in preventing violence or ensuring personal safety.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes various assumptions about the motivations and behaviors of criminals, the effectiveness of self-defense, and the societal impacts of gun laws, which remain unresolved.

  • #271
sketchtrack said:
Maybe a firearm safety coarse should be required to graduate public high school.

You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. There are drivers ed and sex ed classes, why not firearm ed? Most high schools I know of now have at least one police officer on duy, why not have that officer also teach firearm safety?

That's one of the better ideas I've heard in a while now.
 
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  • #272
drankin said:
Once upon a time they HAD target shooting as a sporting activity in public high schools. It was mainly .22 cal rifles but I'm sure they learned safety for a week or two before they could even handle their guns. That kind of thing needs to come back. Now that it is understood with some finality that we will always have guns in our community, what better way to teach kids firearm safety than in the classroom?

At my high school the JROTC rifle team used to use .22 rifles, but stepped back to pellet rifles for some reason. When I first started HS I was anxious to get on the rifle team so that I could show everyone else what a 'crack shot' is.:biggrin: I was severely let down when I found out they were only using pellet rifles. The competitions with other local HS's felt a bit... cheezy.
 

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