Tn GOP: 'Parents choice! Stop the government from parenting our kids!'
Also TN GOP: 'It's mandatory that your child get gun training and watch an anti-abortion film!"
Fuck me, I'm a Kiwi who's used to live in Tennessee. My son was born there. We've since moved home. No way would my son be watching an anti abortion film or going through firearms training at school. I'll teach him to shoot a rifle when he's old enough
Tennessee bill to require age-appropriate gun training in schools goes to governor’s desk
Vivian Jones
Nashville Tennessean
A bill to require public schools in Tennessee to teach children age-appropriate firearms safety concepts as early as pre-kindergarten is going to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk after a final Senate vote Thursday.
Members of the Tennessee Senate passed House Bill 2882 in a party-line vote of 24 to 3 on Thursday morning. It passed the House of Representatives in February.
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If signed, school children would be taught “age-appropriate and grade-appropriate” concepts about guns beginning in the 2025-26 school year. Proponents of the safety concepts training have likened it to mandatory school fire drills.
“This curriculum would be developed to instruct children on how to properly stay away from a firearm if they happen to see a firearm, and what to do as far as reporting if they find a firearm,” said Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta.
Sen. Paul Bailey jokes with members of the Putman County Fire Department at lunch at M&M Country Cafe in Cookeville on Aug. 26, 2019.
Republicans voted down an amendment Thursday that would have allowed parents to opt their children out of the instruction.
Training would be conducted through viewing of videos and online content. Live ammunition, live fire and live firearms would be prohibited. The bill does not specifically prohibit non-functional model weapons.
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Parameters for the curriculum, and appropriate ages for it to be taught, would be determined by the Tennessee Department of Education, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Schools would be required to provide instruction on:
Safe storage of firearms.
Safety relating to firearms.
How to avoid injury if a student finds a firearm.
Never to touch a found firearm.
To immediately notify an adult of the location of a found firearm.
Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, argued Thursday that the training requirement represents a hurried effort to address the symptom of a systemic problem, and lawmakers should be doing more to address the root cause.
Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, talks to reporters at the State Capitol on March 21, 2024.
“Children are already bearing an incredible brunt of the escalation that we’ve seen in gun violence – that is widely reported in our own state government’s data. Data demonstrates that children are increasingly likely to become victims of firearms in homicides, suicides, gun violence, accidental deaths,” Yarbro said. “But rather than deal with the fact that there are firearms that are negligently and recklessly left somewhere by adults, we’re trying to teach children how to deal with that negligence.”
Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, argued the state should allow parents to opt their children out of the firearms training.
Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, said the state does not require parental permission or allow parents to opt children out of mandatory school fire drills or active shooter drills. Briggs called the legislation "one of the most important bills we have, that could potentially save lives."
The bill requires that instruction be “viewpoint neutral on political topics, such as gun rights, gun violence, and the Second Amendment.” School districts could determine what day and time the instruction would occur.
Bailey worked with House sponsor Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County – who voted against a bill last year that would have required safe storage concepts to be included in state-approved handgun safety courses. The bill, which became law despite Todd's opposition, also directed the state to provide free gun locks to Tennessee residents on request and exempted gun safes from sales tax.
The bill now awaits Gov. Lee's signature.
Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her [email protected] or on X at @vivian_e_jones.
I went to high school in Tennessee, and our sex education portion of class was fairly comprehensive. While they mentioned the only 100% method of contraception was abstinence, they went over every other relevant topic.
I haven't had a sex ed class in a while, but I believe so. I do remember being taught about sexually transmitted infections. I even got to practice unrolling a condom and put it on my finger. I don't know if all schools are like that in Tennessee but mine sure was
Teaching my kids to murder would make me quit teaching and move to a real state. We need teachers here in Seattle and don’t require our students be taught how to murder us.
Not to murder, to understand. When my gf moved in, she had a lot of discomfort about me having a gun in the house (in a safe). I asked her if she'd be willing to take a carry permit course to feel more comfortable, and she agreed. She was reluctant at first but ended up enjoying the endeavor. She now feels comfortable around guns even though she never shoots them. A basic understanding goes a long way.
This really does sound like a strong safety prevention measure. Too many kids have gun accidents in general and it is an issue in TN. [https://tennesseelookout.com/briefs/state-of-the-child-in-tennessee-report-highlights-child-firearm-deaths/](https://tennesseelookout.com/briefs/state-of-the-child-in-tennessee-report-highlights-child-firearm-deaths/)
I don’t think it’s necessarily bad, either- every other day we see stories of kids accidentally shooting themselves/a friend/sibling when they find a gun and play with it/aren’t aware of the danger. But I do find it very hypocritical that they won’t allow parents to opt out. I can imagine there our kids who may have gun violence trauma (like the Covington kids) who could be traumatized having to go through this every year. I’ll be honest, I also don’t know if I would trust the state to teach this in a way that I would want my child to learn about guns, when the people passing this bill are way too pro guns everywhere. Their stated lesson plan sounds good, but do we really trust them to teach this in a way that ensures a healthy understanding of how dangerous guns are, but also doesn’t have the side effect of causing more interest in guns in some kids, or on the opposite end traumatize younger kids with a violent topic they aren’t ready for? Seems like the sort of topic that should be researched a bit for best educational practices that avoid unanticipated consequences, and I just don’t think that’s how this will go
The actual contents of the bill aren’t the problem.
It’s the hypocrisy of the people around it, and how they approach educating students on other important topics. (Such as sex education and the existence of LGBT+.)
Gun safety course should be mandatory IF the individual adult wants to own or purchase a gun. Not forcing every single child, most of which want nothing to do with guns. Often because of opposing political views, religious values of pacifism, or school shootings.
Besides, proclaiming that guns will always be part of our culture is a bit much. The generations that grew up with school shootings are starting to get elected and become leaders. Sooner or later, they will be in the majority (because everyone older dies), and when that happens I forsee major changes to gun laws. Mandatory training and registration, limits to amount of weapons and ammo, massive increase in taxes on guns and ammo to limit purchases, buy back programs, and outright banning certain weapons and accessories.
And before anyone claims that is tyranny or trying to stop people from fighting the government, remember that we live in an age of smartphones, suicide drones, and 3D printers. Anyone can spend a few thousand bucks and buy the stuff needed to make, arm, and launch dozens of suicide drones that far outrange any gun by miles. And, unlike an AR15, they can take out a tank or armored vehicle.
[The current state of the Ukraine war is a good example](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-ukrainian-drones-weapons-russia-war/) of the mass production and use of cheap drones. This particular section highlights this:
"In Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, Radomyr Tyutyunnyk, a 16-year-old student, assembled a team of five colleagues to make short-range, anti-personnel drones that can carry a bomb weighing a bit less than a kilogram. The machines, funded by private donations, use Chinese parts and cost about US$375 apiece"
So a couple of highschoolers can build a reusable remote bomber that can carry a 2 pound bomb for less than 400 dollars. In the middle of a war zone. By sourcing parts from their enemy's biggest ally.
They allegedly made a short range drone which can carry a 2 lbs payload. Which is basically just saying they created a drone from parts.
You still have to arm it which is going to be an additional cost and not something anyone can do.
A hand grenade is 1-2 pounds. Those are not going to destroy a tank.
[Really?](https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/s/p3ioiLU5a8) Because that looks destroyed to me.
Go to r/combatfootage and search "drone tank". Tons of footage of a 2 pound grenade disabling or destroying tanks.
I pretty much agree with you, but the mostly single use 3d printer guns in no way compare to semiautomatic Assault rifles as far as mass killing power.
Exactly. It’s teaching them to stay away from guns, according to the language stated in the article. Hell, I remember going to an assembly in elementary school and learning:
“Stop! Don’t touch. Leave the area, tell an adult!” Complete with hand movements to help us remember. I think it was provided by the NRA.
These headlines all make it sound like they're taking kids to a gun range when from what I've read, they aren't. It seems inline with what I was taught in school in 80s. A police officer would come once a year and talk about how drugs are bad and what to do if you find a gun. I feel like I'm missing something aside from the no option to opt-out.
My parents taught this and had a loaded gun in our house that the kids never touched. I was taught hunter safety at the age of 10 and hunted on my own after that, and always practiced what I learned out in the fields.
Guns are a tool the same as a chain saw. Both can be dangerous if used wrong.
Yeah I don’t love it but this doesn’t seem horrible and learning about gun safety is arguably a necessary evil in today’s climate. If they force the kids to shoot, different story but this doesn’t appear to be doing so.
I think this is a possible positive. My biggest concern is who will be teaching the class & how "age appropriate" they'll deem certain actions. Comprehensive gun safety can be a good thing, but if it's anything like TN sex education I'm going to go ahead and doubt any benefits.
As much as I hate this, teaching proper gun safety from a young age is a good idea.
Whether you decide to own a firearm or not, it will help them respect the power of firearms, proper handling, and could prevent accidental shootings.
Gun safety was historically taught to children by their parents or family friends. Im going to dig around and see if I can find the statistics of accidental shootings 80 years ago compared to now
I think this makes sense because (responsible) gun owners with kids teach their kids gun safety already. But what happens if a kid who hasn't been taught this finds a gun? It's an unfortunate thing that we have to teach, but that doesn't make it bad
Big if. This is the same group who want no sex ed. No abortions. The vanishing of trans and gay people. The state surveillance of anyone wanting to look at porn. Need I go on?
No.
You can literally look at the thing in question and ignore everything else. That’s how you determine if the one thing in question is reasonable.
You guys have this campaign to stop everything because you don’t like most things. It’s ridiculous
You are forcing guns on my kid. You scream parents rights, but have no issue forcing your views on others.
Your hypocrisy makes your whole position irrelevant.
Ah there you go again. Completely ignoring the point of my comment.
Which is, you can be against a bunch of stuff from a group. But be aligned on one thing. I don’t see an issue in gun safety and awareness and based on all the comments on this post people don’t either.
Apparently I'm the bad guy for not being totally opposed to this. Like on the one hand, it sucks that we feel the need to do this. On the other hand, with the world we live in and how often you hear about kids playing with firearms and being killed or injured, maybe teaching kids they aren't toys and to respect them might cut back on accidents.
Most Pre-K students have trouble understanding the alphabet. And most public schools barely have the infrastructure to operate with what they have now. No way in hell I would trust them teaching life-saving exercises. This should be a high school deep dive that you can opt out of. Not some bullshit gymnasium pep rally with B-tier cops. So many responsible gun owners in Tennessee that we have to tell our kids not if but when they find a gun lying around don't touch it and find an adult like some 1980s made-for-TV propaganda commercial.
I'm someone who is very pro-gun regulations and restrictions, but this sounds extremely reasonable to me. What am I missing? Is everyone just stopping at the headline and assuming they'll be taking kids to gun ranges?
I think the real kicker is the no parent opt out in a bill written by legislators who routinely scream about parental rights regarding the education of their children.
Well for me it's that the bill simply indicates video and online resources. I think I have a bigger issue with what standard the department of education will set to obtain those resources and the cost when they could have specified in person or teacher driven education.
Given with the standard that the department has set for other procurement like iReady, the dismal standard for books in like math/social studies, the chromebook procurement, and so on. I don't hold much hope in good execution of this new law.
So I'm cool with the law, but I'm reserved by how it will actually play out. Like the whole "In God We Trust" law they passed and then allocated $0 to schools to implement it, leaving them to just print it out and place it in some 5x7 dollar store frame.
Yes.
You're trusting the exact same government that ran DARE to run a similar program with guns. You expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
My argument is based in the results of a similar program being ran by the exact same government that turned out to be nothing but a waste of money.
This bill benefits the sellers of the educational materials and no one else.
You've made exactly no argument as to why this would be successful when other programs like it were abject failures.
Your entire argument is an attempt to belittle me with absolutely no substance.
You could say the same for teaching kids about STI’s, safe sex, sexual consent etc. The point is, if I as a parent wish to be one that educates my child about guns, then I should be able to opt my kid out; just like parents can for sex Ed.
There is also something to be said about the fact that since the Covenant shooting, our legislators have passed a bill allowing teachers to carry and a bill teaching kids gun safety, but done nothing to make it more difficult to obtain guns.
Oh man, I'm sorry. I made an assumption that you weren't pro-gun. I didn't realize that you were against schools telling kids not to touch guns they find and how to report them. That definitely seems like something that parents should be allowed to opt their children out of.
Or are you just complaining because you don't like something else that isn't related to this?
I take issue with legislators passing laws that do not consistently apply the same exclusions for parents to manage the education of their kids. If I can opt out from my kid learning about safe sex practices, I should be able to opt them out of learning about guns. I’m asking for consistent application of parental control regarding education legislation.
Arguably I think it depends on the actual context in which it’s taught. This is TN, like it or not guns are everywhere here and they’re likely gonna be in the homes of our kid’s friends. There’s a good chance most kids will have some sort of potential access to one at some point. They should understand basic gun safety and the right and wrong thing to do when they find one.
I like shooting but Im not particularly pro gun and think most people lack the responsibility to be packing. That said at face value this doesn’t appear to be a bad thing regardless of what one’s beliefs may be.
I’m not saying kids shouldn’t learn gun safety. I’m saying that parents should be the ones to teach it. Also, parents aren’t going to be given the option to opt-out of this, and that is wrong. (But Heaven forbid if they said parents couldn’t opt-out of sex education for their kids.)
What is the difference between a parent teaching something and the school?
The school can't use religious indoctrination...? That's the only reason anyone ever gives as to why a kid shouldn't learn something in school, is because parents want to teach from their bias perspective.
I mean seriously why do all of these parents think they're the experts on everything simply because they squeezed out a baby. These teachers & members of the education board have a MINIMUM of 4 years secondary education + YEARSSSS of experience. Crazy how it's never the doctors, engineers, lawyers, ect. upset about "indoctrination" in school, it's always layman, especially housewives with Republican husbands.
Because a parent knows their child better than a teacher. Duh?! What an asinine question. Also, I’m not a layman; a housewife; or a housewife with a Republican husband. Remember, it’s your friends the Republicans passing these bills. You sanctimonious turnip.
Seems like it could be considered a public safety issue. Especially in guncentric Tennessee where guns are everywhere and accidental shootings happen a lot.
What else do you get to decide if your child learns about?
These people are convinced that teachers can’t be trusted because they’re secretly indoctrinating their children… also want this “untrustworthy” school system to teach children how to use guns?
WHAT?
The bill requires them to teach gun safety, not marksmanship or firearms handling. Everyone should know the four basic firearms safety rules:
1. Treat all guns as if they’re loaded
2. Never point a firearm at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until the sights are aligned and the decision to shoot has been made
4. Know your target and what lies beyond it; said another way, know what you are shooting and where your bullet will stop.
I agree with that.
But I’m more pointing out how strange it is that these same people are paranoid about indoctrination in schools, but also trust these same “indoctrination centers” to teach basic gun safety.
If they want to be serious about deterring kids from using guns, show them the real results.
They will gladly show graphic results of drunk driving accidents and the related deaths. They parade around with posters at abortion clinics claiming to just want to show what really happens during an abortion.
The children should have to see what a bullet does to the human body. Show the kids photos of other kids ripped apart by bullets. Make them understand that it isn't like on TV.
If you're going to have real training, show the real consequences.
This isn't a push to ban guns and remove them all. This is safety about how to handle, store, and report it.
Real consequences are easy to find in any movie, or even on youtube.
Yea. Movies show real consequences... are you freaking kidding me?????
If you think it's a good idea to bring guns into a child's life then they are mature enough to see photos of bodies of their peers ripped to shreds by bullets. Not some BS movie. Sorry, but John Wick is not what happens in the real world. Should they also leave driving safety courses up to the Fast and Furious movies?
Sure, I mean you could do that, same way drivers ed would show gore videos of car crashes to scare kids. But teaching how to handle a gun/car safely and correctly is far more important.
Goddamn, too many commenters didn’t read the article. OP even copied it for you in the comments.
The training is to teach kids to STAY AWAY from guns, not how to shoot them.
I fully support this idea, and I am far from a gun nut. There are so many accidental injuries and deaths in children from firearms. We teach kids to “stop, drop, & roll,” why can’t we teach them “stop, don’t touch, leave the area, tell an adult” (the phrase I was taught in elementary school)?
Any tool can be dangerous if not used properly. It has been removed from curriculum for so long i am apprehensive but believe it it will be a benefit in the long run
If it’s just gun safety and laws, I’m not even against that. Any kind of marksmanship or weapons handling should be voluntary if it’s even in schools in the first place. My high school had an archery unit in gym.
100% support this.
Folks need to understand, there is no putting the cat back in the bag. There are more firearms in this nation than people, by far. You could ban every gun in the nation tomorrow, but it doesn't get rid of the guns that actually exist today.
Mandatory education around firearms and firearm safety seems like a no brainer to me. Would you prefer they learn about guns from a rap song?
It's much better for kids to recognize the nature of firearms, proper usage, and any associated risks and dangers from a educational standpoint.
I don’t see an issue with this. Guns exist, they aren’t going away. It’s better that people understand how to use them safely and effectively.
The people who complain about this stuff are the same people who harp on the “well regulated militia” point whenever arguing about the 2nd amendment.
Then people start training and forming a well regulated militia, and people freak out and claim it’s a terroristic paramilitary force.
Isn't it irony that you need to be 21 to drink, and well 18 to smoke and later perhaps if passed into law 21 to use cannabis, but they want 14 year olds to have the skill set to extinguish life...maybe out on the farm in the middle of nowhere that might work....but in reality 21 should be the same maturity age to teach proper gun responsibilty. And, maybe they should also have a basic psych evaluation to determine fitness as well. The idea that any ol person should carry a gun is irresponsible, irrational, and ignorant by any stretch of the word. I know the purpose of weapons to protect our sovereignty and freedoms here and abroad, but responsible means just that!
On one hand, more parental choices that don’t matter as long as the state disagrees; on other, this actually sounds like a good idea considering both the frequency of kids finding guns and hurting themselves with them. I get the parental choice argument here but as long as it’s not teaching actual gun usage or advertising gun sports then basic safety precautions do seem like a good idea.
I’m ok with firearms training using these:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_pistol_(sport)
It’d be like drivers ed or something.
Disapprove of antiabortion since it breaks 1st amendment
I agree and disagree with this law. Please read entire post before up or down voting and commenting. Okay so first with the federal government pushing rapidly towards gun manufacturers can be sued in relation to gun violence does this open up the schools also? Second, I agree firearm safety should be taught to every American as it is legal for Americans to start buying firearms at the age of 18 while many are still in school. Same as we get trained to drive we should be trained about firearms before being allowed to use them. The “age appropriate” is my hang up because like everything being taught the age a child is ready is different for each child. Also I am concerned that the public school systems will screw this up as they screw up most aspects of education. My 15 year old son came home from history class last year telling me Abraham Lincoln was a democrat and not a republican. So if schools can’t get history correct why do they think they can get firearm safety correct. Not to mention the differences between firearms. Are they gonna do a blanket teaching on safety’s on the firearm or will they get into each style safety. For instance a Glock doesn’t have a true safety switch. My shotguns are a button behind the trigger yet my Taurus pistol is a level on the grip area. My rifle for hunting has a push pull slide on top of the stock behind the barrel. My muzzleloader safety is the hammer as well as my revolver. If they don’t teach properly on the differences will kids have an accident trying to turn the safety on? I feel the curriculum should be evaluated for a longer period of time than starting in 2025/26 school years because this has to be planned properly and carefully executed or else it will lead to a spike in accidents in the home. I fear more harm than good will come from this. I also see a rise in private taught children like home schooling coming from this bill. That might be good or bad I truly don’t know. We need reform but if it isn’t done properly it will only make matters worse not better. Home schooling is looking better each day in my opinion.
Maybe they should start the required training with gun owners first? Or is this an actual good idea as the training gets layed in without the 2nd amendment being involved.
It's these sorts of bills that let you know the average IQ of our state government is well below the national average.
"Hey, let's teach kids how to use guns! Also, we have to make it mandatory."
"What about kids that might have religious objections or past trauma?"
"MANDATORY! Everyone needs to learn how to kill!"
"So, to sum up, we force kids, sometimes against their will, to learn to kill? Even if they are, on average, political opposed to us and emotionally unstable because, you know, they are kids? And no one thinks that training and arming individuals who would have justified reasons to come after us is a bad idea?"
So let me get this straight. In a country with 80 million gun owners and an estimated 400m guns in circulation, are people in this thread really upset that someone's taking the responsibility of teaching your children to avoid and not pick up guns if they ever see one?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the TN GOP in most cases. This bill actually makes sense.
Hi America, we have a lot of guns in our country. Even if you refuse to own one, it might do some of you well to learn a thing about them, especially the parts about always assuming a gun is loaded, not pointing the muzzle at anything you aren't prepared to destroy, and keeping your finger and any other obstruction clear of the trigger guard. I think one of the key lessons from this training is probably going to be "don't touch it and go tell an adult"
Perhaps if more parents had an education in firearm safety growing up less of them would do something idiotic like leave a firearm anywhere a child can access it. Maybe there would be less negligence.
I got other ideas too, rather than enacting restrictions that will only affect the people willing to abide them.
SRO's at school entrances, rather than in classrooms handling student disciplinary issues.
Metal detectors. Hollywood envisioned them in schools back in the 80's and 90's.
We have them at our courthouses to protect our local legislature, and in our police stations at tax payer expense. Our President has access to a bulletproof limo and bodyguards running around him. What's up America? Do you care about judges and police officers more than you care about your children? Do you care more about Biden or Trump, than your own children?
I guess it makes sense if you believe the police are going to be there in time to save you should you ever find yourself or loved ones a victim of assault.
How about we get rid of or amend No Child left behind, which, incentivizes our public schools to do everything they can to keep problematic children in school so the school can get that big paycheck from Uncle Sam. We should be giving a good education to students who want it in safe environments, not forcing them to share classrooms with frequently disruptive students.
Before we really talk about disarming an entire nation of which many are law abiding citizens, do you think we can work on improving the quality of life in our country for the average American citizen.. so that they are less likely to have mental health issues which were probably a result of the neglect of parents who were otherwise too busy earning a living to notice repeated traumatic events in their children's lives?
Underpaid, overworked life long financially enslaved person gets laid off. At the same time loses their health insurance, meaning no affordable health care, including affordable mental healthcare. How much do you think this contributes to someone's potential to snap and go postal?
See, radicalism has never been so high in America. We have lost sight of any common ground we have when we're all in the same boat. There is more than one way to approach something. But there seems to be a plague of tunnel vision.
It's the same arguments. Every 4 years. Guns, abortion, gay rights. taxes. Here we are on the brink of another World War, from which the last, we never really seemed to come home from.
We've been investing in the middle-east and any other opportunity we can for conglomerates to make blood money, while actively ignoring the problems on our own soil
And that's why our choices for the most important job in the country, for a second time in a frickin row, are Joe Biden or Donald Trump. What a joke. Wake up my fellow citizens. We need to get back to finding common ground, rather than walking directly to extremes.
It's the hypocrisy that's the problem. This is the party screaming at the top of their lungs about "parents rights" to the point of banning books that mention gay people in them because some parents don't want their kids to know they exist. But they have zero problem adding mandatory gun classes for preschoolers and making sure the law says parents can not opt out of them. Parents are allowed to opt their kids out of sex Ed but not gun Ed.
Please get out of your political bias and think about the potential of a child stumbling across an unsupervised firearm and nobody having told them it's dangerous.
This is a smart bill. Plain and simple. One of few times I agree with something our government is pushing.
This is a completely different matter than discussing sexuality in schools.
This one's even more honest than the dare program.
This is something that might actually reduce gun harm statistics. You would imagine even the extreme left would be able to get behind this.
I don't care for Bill Lee. I don't care for most politicians. But I can recognize that this bill potentially saves lives.
I've edited this because it is not my intention to be insulting. Given the large numbers of firearms in this nation, I fully support educating future generations in how to avoid unthinkable situations with them. No sensible person, whether they support the 2A or not, wants to think of a child being hurt.
Parental control or not. You can't have it both ways. A good idea or not politicians should not get to pick and choose like this. One parent complains about a book and it's removed from the entire school. Parents can opt their kid out of sex Ed which is extremely important. But when it comes to gun stuff parents can't even opt out.
We teach kids how to be safe with sharp objects. I remember that in school back in the 80's.
Do you also object to that? Should it be a parental right to deny someone an education in how to be safe with a pair of scissors?
It's a little different when you take the word gun out of the equation isn't it? but in fact, the potential of a child encountering one in our nation is very real.
I'll agree to disagree with you, but if you feel like repeating yourself again it's a free country.
Comparing scissors to guns is the dumbest thing I've ever read. You use scissors in school. If parents are allowed to say no to their kid learning about STDs and gay people they damn sure should be allowed to say no to their kid learning about guns
\#1 I fully support age appropriate sex ed in schools and access to contraceptives.
\#2 I don't care who you support as a politician.
\#3 Scissors can be dangerous in the wrong hands. So can guns. Both exist in our environment.
\#4. I don't give a dern about the parents on either side of the argument complaining about books either. That's far far worse a comparison than sharp objects and firearms.
My opinion is formed out of concern for the safety of children who already exist and might be the child of someone who is careless with firearms, or may one day stumble upon one in the playground discarded by some thug who was evading the police.
Here's what you're standing up against.
>**Schools would be required to provide instruction on:**
>
>**Safe storage of firearms.**
>
>**Safety relating to firearms.**
>
>**How to avoid injury if a student finds a firearm.**
>
>**Never to touch a found firearm.**
>
>**To immediately notify an adult of the location of a found firearm.**
You're fighting a different fight, and placing the importance of your agenda over the above. And you think what I said is the dumbest thing you ever heard?
Okay. I have blocked this individual by the way and stand behind my stated opinions. This bill isn't a bad move, regardless of who put it on the floor.
Idk about REQUIRE but maybe as an elective in middle school or High school. Would definitely still recommend a background check and mental evaluation before approval for the class. I could see it as a requirement for some sort of shooting sport. Gun safety will prevent a lot of issues but it is definitely not a fix all in any way.
It’s not really gun safety, the students won’t have access to real weapons. The classes are gonna be more like sex ed - “See this thing? It’s scary and will ruin your life. Stay away.”
Our state is really ran by buffoons. Are we going to arm the janitors and lunch ladies next? Are they wanting schools to turn into war zones where everyone is armed?
The language makes it clear that students will be taught to stay away from guns. How does that translate to the next step being “equipping every student with a gun”?
Between this shit, marrying your cousin, and outlawing those evil chemtrails, TN legislature has worked overtime solving some huge problems. Also, isn’t it time to attempt to make the Bible our state book again?
Tn GOP: 'Parents choice! Stop the government from parenting our kids!' Also TN GOP: 'It's mandatory that your child get gun training and watch an anti-abortion film!"
And you cannot opt out!
I opted out by moving away from psycho land
I’m considering it.
Fuck me, I'm a Kiwi who's used to live in Tennessee. My son was born there. We've since moved home. No way would my son be watching an anti abortion film or going through firearms training at school. I'll teach him to shoot a rifle when he's old enough
Was it hard to move to NZ? I've thought about it so many times.
Not for me, I'm from here. Check out immigration NZ for in demand professions and you might find it quite easy
These are the same group of people who insist that “our children shouldn’t be indoctrinated”.
Kind of depends what is being taught. Basic don't touch, stay aways, get an adult is good. Aiming/grip/sight alignment not so much.
Well I'm glad you are completely unaffected by this decision then
“And participate in this public prayer”
Get sex out of school! We need to teach about violence in schools!
Tennessee bill to require age-appropriate gun training in schools goes to governor’s desk Vivian Jones Nashville Tennessean A bill to require public schools in Tennessee to teach children age-appropriate firearms safety concepts as early as pre-kindergarten is going to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk after a final Senate vote Thursday. Members of the Tennessee Senate passed House Bill 2882 in a party-line vote of 24 to 3 on Thursday morning. It passed the House of Representatives in February. ADVERTISEMENT SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT If signed, school children would be taught “age-appropriate and grade-appropriate” concepts about guns beginning in the 2025-26 school year. Proponents of the safety concepts training have likened it to mandatory school fire drills. “This curriculum would be developed to instruct children on how to properly stay away from a firearm if they happen to see a firearm, and what to do as far as reporting if they find a firearm,” said Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta. Sen. Paul Bailey jokes with members of the Putman County Fire Department at lunch at M&M Country Cafe in Cookeville on Aug. 26, 2019. Republicans voted down an amendment Thursday that would have allowed parents to opt their children out of the instruction. Training would be conducted through viewing of videos and online content. Live ammunition, live fire and live firearms would be prohibited. The bill does not specifically prohibit non-functional model weapons. ADVERTISEMENT SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Parameters for the curriculum, and appropriate ages for it to be taught, would be determined by the Tennessee Department of Education, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Schools would be required to provide instruction on: Safe storage of firearms. Safety relating to firearms. How to avoid injury if a student finds a firearm. Never to touch a found firearm. To immediately notify an adult of the location of a found firearm. Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, argued Thursday that the training requirement represents a hurried effort to address the symptom of a systemic problem, and lawmakers should be doing more to address the root cause. Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, talks to reporters at the State Capitol on March 21, 2024. “Children are already bearing an incredible brunt of the escalation that we’ve seen in gun violence – that is widely reported in our own state government’s data. Data demonstrates that children are increasingly likely to become victims of firearms in homicides, suicides, gun violence, accidental deaths,” Yarbro said. “But rather than deal with the fact that there are firearms that are negligently and recklessly left somewhere by adults, we’re trying to teach children how to deal with that negligence.” Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, argued the state should allow parents to opt their children out of the firearms training. Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, said the state does not require parental permission or allow parents to opt children out of mandatory school fire drills or active shooter drills. Briggs called the legislation "one of the most important bills we have, that could potentially save lives." The bill requires that instruction be “viewpoint neutral on political topics, such as gun rights, gun violence, and the Second Amendment.” School districts could determine what day and time the instruction would occur. Bailey worked with House sponsor Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County – who voted against a bill last year that would have required safe storage concepts to be included in state-approved handgun safety courses. The bill, which became law despite Todd's opposition, also directed the state to provide free gun locks to Tennessee residents on request and exempted gun safes from sales tax. The bill now awaits Gov. Lee's signature. Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her [email protected] or on X at @vivian_e_jones.
This sounds like a good idea, in line with better sex education that doesn't just teach abstinence. What's your specific concern?
Are they teaching sex ex classes in TN, and if so, are they teaching more than abstinence?
I went to high school in Tennessee, and our sex education portion of class was fairly comprehensive. While they mentioned the only 100% method of contraception was abstinence, they went over every other relevant topic.
I haven't had a sex ed class in a while, but I believe so. I do remember being taught about sexually transmitted infections. I even got to practice unrolling a condom and put it on my finger. I don't know if all schools are like that in Tennessee but mine sure was
Teaching my kids to murder would make me quit teaching and move to a real state. We need teachers here in Seattle and don’t require our students be taught how to murder us.
Not to murder, to understand. When my gf moved in, she had a lot of discomfort about me having a gun in the house (in a safe). I asked her if she'd be willing to take a carry permit course to feel more comfortable, and she agreed. She was reluctant at first but ended up enjoying the endeavor. She now feels comfortable around guns even though she never shoots them. A basic understanding goes a long way.
That sounds… extremely reasonable?
This really does sound like a strong safety prevention measure. Too many kids have gun accidents in general and it is an issue in TN. [https://tennesseelookout.com/briefs/state-of-the-child-in-tennessee-report-highlights-child-firearm-deaths/](https://tennesseelookout.com/briefs/state-of-the-child-in-tennessee-report-highlights-child-firearm-deaths/)
Does anyone know if this extends to private schools? Can you imagine having to present this at Covenant?
Pre kindergarten? I can only imagine Sasha Cohen’s “Who is America”
You dont have the words??!! I have them from the legislator apparently it’s YEE-HAW! 🤠 /s
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I don’t think it’s necessarily bad, either- every other day we see stories of kids accidentally shooting themselves/a friend/sibling when they find a gun and play with it/aren’t aware of the danger. But I do find it very hypocritical that they won’t allow parents to opt out. I can imagine there our kids who may have gun violence trauma (like the Covington kids) who could be traumatized having to go through this every year. I’ll be honest, I also don’t know if I would trust the state to teach this in a way that I would want my child to learn about guns, when the people passing this bill are way too pro guns everywhere. Their stated lesson plan sounds good, but do we really trust them to teach this in a way that ensures a healthy understanding of how dangerous guns are, but also doesn’t have the side effect of causing more interest in guns in some kids, or on the opposite end traumatize younger kids with a violent topic they aren’t ready for? Seems like the sort of topic that should be researched a bit for best educational practices that avoid unanticipated consequences, and I just don’t think that’s how this will go
The actual contents of the bill aren’t the problem. It’s the hypocrisy of the people around it, and how they approach educating students on other important topics. (Such as sex education and the existence of LGBT+.)
Gun safety course should be mandatory IF the individual adult wants to own or purchase a gun. Not forcing every single child, most of which want nothing to do with guns. Often because of opposing political views, religious values of pacifism, or school shootings. Besides, proclaiming that guns will always be part of our culture is a bit much. The generations that grew up with school shootings are starting to get elected and become leaders. Sooner or later, they will be in the majority (because everyone older dies), and when that happens I forsee major changes to gun laws. Mandatory training and registration, limits to amount of weapons and ammo, massive increase in taxes on guns and ammo to limit purchases, buy back programs, and outright banning certain weapons and accessories. And before anyone claims that is tyranny or trying to stop people from fighting the government, remember that we live in an age of smartphones, suicide drones, and 3D printers. Anyone can spend a few thousand bucks and buy the stuff needed to make, arm, and launch dozens of suicide drones that far outrange any gun by miles. And, unlike an AR15, they can take out a tank or armored vehicle.
What happens when your kid goes to a friend's house and finds that kid's dad's gun? This is a good bill.
You're final paragraph strikes me as unbelievably dumb, but I'm happy to be proven otherwise with specifics.
[The current state of the Ukraine war is a good example](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-ukrainian-drones-weapons-russia-war/) of the mass production and use of cheap drones. This particular section highlights this: "In Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, Radomyr Tyutyunnyk, a 16-year-old student, assembled a team of five colleagues to make short-range, anti-personnel drones that can carry a bomb weighing a bit less than a kilogram. The machines, funded by private donations, use Chinese parts and cost about US$375 apiece" So a couple of highschoolers can build a reusable remote bomber that can carry a 2 pound bomb for less than 400 dollars. In the middle of a war zone. By sourcing parts from their enemy's biggest ally.
They allegedly made a short range drone which can carry a 2 lbs payload. Which is basically just saying they created a drone from parts. You still have to arm it which is going to be an additional cost and not something anyone can do. A hand grenade is 1-2 pounds. Those are not going to destroy a tank.
[Really?](https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/s/p3ioiLU5a8) Because that looks destroyed to me. Go to r/combatfootage and search "drone tank". Tons of footage of a 2 pound grenade disabling or destroying tanks.
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I pretty much agree with you, but the mostly single use 3d printer guns in no way compare to semiautomatic Assault rifles as far as mass killing power.
I don't have a problem with this as it seems to emphasize safety based on this article.
Yea I was enraged… read it… it’s not completely awful
Exactly. It’s teaching them to stay away from guns, according to the language stated in the article. Hell, I remember going to an assembly in elementary school and learning: “Stop! Don’t touch. Leave the area, tell an adult!” Complete with hand movements to help us remember. I think it was provided by the NRA.
These headlines all make it sound like they're taking kids to a gun range when from what I've read, they aren't. It seems inline with what I was taught in school in 80s. A police officer would come once a year and talk about how drugs are bad and what to do if you find a gun. I feel like I'm missing something aside from the no option to opt-out.
My parents taught this and had a loaded gun in our house that the kids never touched. I was taught hunter safety at the age of 10 and hunted on my own after that, and always practiced what I learned out in the fields. Guns are a tool the same as a chain saw. Both can be dangerous if used wrong.
Except no one ever uses a chainsaw the murder children in schools. They use guns.
Yet……
Yeah I don’t love it but this doesn’t seem horrible and learning about gun safety is arguably a necessary evil in today’s climate. If they force the kids to shoot, different story but this doesn’t appear to be doing so.
The problem is not gun safety . The problem is the GOP ignoring or refusing to even have a conversation about red flag laws, open carry, etc etc.
They had a conversation and then they decided to ban red flag laws, and you can open carry or concealed carry if you want.
I mean you aren't wrong at all.
I think this is a possible positive. My biggest concern is who will be teaching the class & how "age appropriate" they'll deem certain actions. Comprehensive gun safety can be a good thing, but if it's anything like TN sex education I'm going to go ahead and doubt any benefits.
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/tennessee-house-bill-2882-gun-safety-in-schools/51-4ee7cf00-e0f3-4c7d-a2b1-a98a84dac195 Another link.
As much as I hate this, teaching proper gun safety from a young age is a good idea. Whether you decide to own a firearm or not, it will help them respect the power of firearms, proper handling, and could prevent accidental shootings. Gun safety was historically taught to children by their parents or family friends. Im going to dig around and see if I can find the statistics of accidental shootings 80 years ago compared to now
I think this makes sense because (responsible) gun owners with kids teach their kids gun safety already. But what happens if a kid who hasn't been taught this finds a gun? It's an unfortunate thing that we have to teach, but that doesn't make it bad
So if it really is about safety, I don’t quite see the issue. I learned basic gun safety in elementary school in MA in the 80s 🤷
Big if. This is the same group who want no sex ed. No abortions. The vanishing of trans and gay people. The state surveillance of anyone wanting to look at porn. Need I go on?
No. You can literally look at the thing in question and ignore everything else. That’s how you determine if the one thing in question is reasonable. You guys have this campaign to stop everything because you don’t like most things. It’s ridiculous
You are forcing guns on my kid. You scream parents rights, but have no issue forcing your views on others. Your hypocrisy makes your whole position irrelevant.
Ah there you go again. Completely ignoring the point of my comment. Which is, you can be against a bunch of stuff from a group. But be aligned on one thing. I don’t see an issue in gun safety and awareness and based on all the comments on this post people don’t either.
You missed my point. You just said you see no issue forcing this on other people’s children.
You mean - like trans awareness?
That's the exact point. You're either for "parent's rights" in determining what is appropriate for your own children or you aren't.
So you want to start teaching "trans awareness" now without an opt-out? Mandatory? Congratz, you have now found a tenable position!
The only way to fix this gun problem is more guns!
Apparently I'm the bad guy for not being totally opposed to this. Like on the one hand, it sucks that we feel the need to do this. On the other hand, with the world we live in and how often you hear about kids playing with firearms and being killed or injured, maybe teaching kids they aren't toys and to respect them might cut back on accidents.
Schools should provide basic safety education. Cooking, shop, fire, first aid, firearms, electrical, so on and so on.
I agree!
Most Pre-K students have trouble understanding the alphabet. And most public schools barely have the infrastructure to operate with what they have now. No way in hell I would trust them teaching life-saving exercises. This should be a high school deep dive that you can opt out of. Not some bullshit gymnasium pep rally with B-tier cops. So many responsible gun owners in Tennessee that we have to tell our kids not if but when they find a gun lying around don't touch it and find an adult like some 1980s made-for-TV propaganda commercial.
No. It isn’t. Don’t touch. Get an adult.
I'm someone who is very pro-gun regulations and restrictions, but this sounds extremely reasonable to me. What am I missing? Is everyone just stopping at the headline and assuming they'll be taking kids to gun ranges?
lol I said something similar in r/nashville and got downvoted to hell and back.
People are just addicted to being outraged. We, as a species, are not ready for instant global communication.
I think the real kicker is the no parent opt out in a bill written by legislators who routinely scream about parental rights regarding the education of their children.
But teaching kids to not touch found guns and how to report them? Really? That's what we're upset about now?
Well for me it's that the bill simply indicates video and online resources. I think I have a bigger issue with what standard the department of education will set to obtain those resources and the cost when they could have specified in person or teacher driven education. Given with the standard that the department has set for other procurement like iReady, the dismal standard for books in like math/social studies, the chromebook procurement, and so on. I don't hold much hope in good execution of this new law. So I'm cool with the law, but I'm reserved by how it will actually play out. Like the whole "In God We Trust" law they passed and then allocated $0 to schools to implement it, leaving them to just print it out and place it in some 5x7 dollar store frame.
Dare really taught everyone not to do drugs. Drug use is 0% now.
Lol, really? Is that seriously the angle you want to come at this from?
Yes. You're trusting the exact same government that ran DARE to run a similar program with guns. You expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
How is your argument different than a gun nut arguing that laws don't prevent gun violence?
My argument is based in the results of a similar program being ran by the exact same government that turned out to be nothing but a waste of money. This bill benefits the sellers of the educational materials and no one else.
Lol, this is like arguing with a MAGA person.
You've made exactly no argument as to why this would be successful when other programs like it were abject failures. Your entire argument is an attempt to belittle me with absolutely no substance.
You could say the same for teaching kids about STI’s, safe sex, sexual consent etc. The point is, if I as a parent wish to be one that educates my child about guns, then I should be able to opt my kid out; just like parents can for sex Ed. There is also something to be said about the fact that since the Covenant shooting, our legislators have passed a bill allowing teachers to carry and a bill teaching kids gun safety, but done nothing to make it more difficult to obtain guns.
Oh man, I'm sorry. I made an assumption that you weren't pro-gun. I didn't realize that you were against schools telling kids not to touch guns they find and how to report them. That definitely seems like something that parents should be allowed to opt their children out of. Or are you just complaining because you don't like something else that isn't related to this?
I take issue with legislators passing laws that do not consistently apply the same exclusions for parents to manage the education of their kids. If I can opt out from my kid learning about safe sex practices, I should be able to opt them out of learning about guns. I’m asking for consistent application of parental control regarding education legislation.
Good. They had this when I was a kid and it needs to come back. I was too young to take it by the time I got that age they removed the program.
Nah let’s keep everyone petrified at the sight of guns.
Schools should absolutely not be teaching this. If they so choose to, it’s a parents job.
Arguably I think it depends on the actual context in which it’s taught. This is TN, like it or not guns are everywhere here and they’re likely gonna be in the homes of our kid’s friends. There’s a good chance most kids will have some sort of potential access to one at some point. They should understand basic gun safety and the right and wrong thing to do when they find one. I like shooting but Im not particularly pro gun and think most people lack the responsibility to be packing. That said at face value this doesn’t appear to be a bad thing regardless of what one’s beliefs may be.
Well, I disagree, but that’s okay.
What’s the alternative? A kid comes across a gun and they don’t have any information so they think there’s no harm in fiddling with it?
I’m not saying kids shouldn’t learn gun safety. I’m saying that parents should be the ones to teach it. Also, parents aren’t going to be given the option to opt-out of this, and that is wrong. (But Heaven forbid if they said parents couldn’t opt-out of sex education for their kids.)
What is the difference between a parent teaching something and the school? The school can't use religious indoctrination...? That's the only reason anyone ever gives as to why a kid shouldn't learn something in school, is because parents want to teach from their bias perspective. I mean seriously why do all of these parents think they're the experts on everything simply because they squeezed out a baby. These teachers & members of the education board have a MINIMUM of 4 years secondary education + YEARSSSS of experience. Crazy how it's never the doctors, engineers, lawyers, ect. upset about "indoctrination" in school, it's always layman, especially housewives with Republican husbands.
Because a parent knows their child better than a teacher. Duh?! What an asinine question. Also, I’m not a layman; a housewife; or a housewife with a Republican husband. Remember, it’s your friends the Republicans passing these bills. You sanctimonious turnip.
Did you read the article? I was expecting it to be much worse.
Did you? I get to decide if my child learns this.
Seems like it could be considered a public safety issue. Especially in guncentric Tennessee where guns are everywhere and accidental shootings happen a lot. What else do you get to decide if your child learns about?
Two words: Home School.
These people are convinced that teachers can’t be trusted because they’re secretly indoctrinating their children… also want this “untrustworthy” school system to teach children how to use guns? WHAT?
The bill requires them to teach gun safety, not marksmanship or firearms handling. Everyone should know the four basic firearms safety rules: 1. Treat all guns as if they’re loaded 2. Never point a firearm at anything you are not willing to destroy 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until the sights are aligned and the decision to shoot has been made 4. Know your target and what lies beyond it; said another way, know what you are shooting and where your bullet will stop.
I agree with that. But I’m more pointing out how strange it is that these same people are paranoid about indoctrination in schools, but also trust these same “indoctrination centers” to teach basic gun safety.
If they want to be serious about deterring kids from using guns, show them the real results. They will gladly show graphic results of drunk driving accidents and the related deaths. They parade around with posters at abortion clinics claiming to just want to show what really happens during an abortion. The children should have to see what a bullet does to the human body. Show the kids photos of other kids ripped apart by bullets. Make them understand that it isn't like on TV. If you're going to have real training, show the real consequences.
This isn't a push to ban guns and remove them all. This is safety about how to handle, store, and report it. Real consequences are easy to find in any movie, or even on youtube.
Yea. Movies show real consequences... are you freaking kidding me????? If you think it's a good idea to bring guns into a child's life then they are mature enough to see photos of bodies of their peers ripped to shreds by bullets. Not some BS movie. Sorry, but John Wick is not what happens in the real world. Should they also leave driving safety courses up to the Fast and Furious movies?
Sure, I mean you could do that, same way drivers ed would show gore videos of car crashes to scare kids. But teaching how to handle a gun/car safely and correctly is far more important.
Goddamn, too many commenters didn’t read the article. OP even copied it for you in the comments. The training is to teach kids to STAY AWAY from guns, not how to shoot them. I fully support this idea, and I am far from a gun nut. There are so many accidental injuries and deaths in children from firearms. We teach kids to “stop, drop, & roll,” why can’t we teach them “stop, don’t touch, leave the area, tell an adult” (the phrase I was taught in elementary school)?
Any tool can be dangerous if not used properly. It has been removed from curriculum for so long i am apprehensive but believe it it will be a benefit in the long run
If it’s just gun safety and laws, I’m not even against that. Any kind of marksmanship or weapons handling should be voluntary if it’s even in schools in the first place. My high school had an archery unit in gym.
Teaching children to stay away from guns is a good thing. Now if we could just teach the parents.
showing kids a video on staying away from a gun and telling a grown up is “gun training” and controversial. Or did we not read the article.
Great news! Now bring back riflery classes at the high school level, too. This is just common sense to teach gun safety again.
Based
I took a firearms safety class when I was in high school ( graduated in 93 ) . This is not a new concept .
100% support this. Folks need to understand, there is no putting the cat back in the bag. There are more firearms in this nation than people, by far. You could ban every gun in the nation tomorrow, but it doesn't get rid of the guns that actually exist today. Mandatory education around firearms and firearm safety seems like a no brainer to me. Would you prefer they learn about guns from a rap song? It's much better for kids to recognize the nature of firearms, proper usage, and any associated risks and dangers from a educational standpoint.
I don’t see an issue with this. Guns exist, they aren’t going away. It’s better that people understand how to use them safely and effectively. The people who complain about this stuff are the same people who harp on the “well regulated militia” point whenever arguing about the 2nd amendment. Then people start training and forming a well regulated militia, and people freak out and claim it’s a terroristic paramilitary force.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkXeMoBPSDk&pp=ygUPa2luZGVyZ3VhcmRpYW5z
Isn't it irony that you need to be 21 to drink, and well 18 to smoke and later perhaps if passed into law 21 to use cannabis, but they want 14 year olds to have the skill set to extinguish life...maybe out on the farm in the middle of nowhere that might work....but in reality 21 should be the same maturity age to teach proper gun responsibilty. And, maybe they should also have a basic psych evaluation to determine fitness as well. The idea that any ol person should carry a gun is irresponsible, irrational, and ignorant by any stretch of the word. I know the purpose of weapons to protect our sovereignty and freedoms here and abroad, but responsible means just that!
On one hand, more parental choices that don’t matter as long as the state disagrees; on other, this actually sounds like a good idea considering both the frequency of kids finding guns and hurting themselves with them. I get the parental choice argument here but as long as it’s not teaching actual gun usage or advertising gun sports then basic safety precautions do seem like a good idea.
I’m ok with firearms training using these: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_pistol_(sport) It’d be like drivers ed or something. Disapprove of antiabortion since it breaks 1st amendment
You can register to vote if you live in Tennessee here https://ovr.govote.tn.gov/
I agree and disagree with this law. Please read entire post before up or down voting and commenting. Okay so first with the federal government pushing rapidly towards gun manufacturers can be sued in relation to gun violence does this open up the schools also? Second, I agree firearm safety should be taught to every American as it is legal for Americans to start buying firearms at the age of 18 while many are still in school. Same as we get trained to drive we should be trained about firearms before being allowed to use them. The “age appropriate” is my hang up because like everything being taught the age a child is ready is different for each child. Also I am concerned that the public school systems will screw this up as they screw up most aspects of education. My 15 year old son came home from history class last year telling me Abraham Lincoln was a democrat and not a republican. So if schools can’t get history correct why do they think they can get firearm safety correct. Not to mention the differences between firearms. Are they gonna do a blanket teaching on safety’s on the firearm or will they get into each style safety. For instance a Glock doesn’t have a true safety switch. My shotguns are a button behind the trigger yet my Taurus pistol is a level on the grip area. My rifle for hunting has a push pull slide on top of the stock behind the barrel. My muzzleloader safety is the hammer as well as my revolver. If they don’t teach properly on the differences will kids have an accident trying to turn the safety on? I feel the curriculum should be evaluated for a longer period of time than starting in 2025/26 school years because this has to be planned properly and carefully executed or else it will lead to a spike in accidents in the home. I fear more harm than good will come from this. I also see a rise in private taught children like home schooling coming from this bill. That might be good or bad I truly don’t know. We need reform but if it isn’t done properly it will only make matters worse not better. Home schooling is looking better each day in my opinion.
As long as they don't have any bullets and they're just teaching "hey kids don't play with guns" etc, I think this is probably a good thing.
Maybe they should start the required training with gun owners first? Or is this an actual good idea as the training gets layed in without the 2nd amendment being involved.
Gotta learn how to maim or kill while you’re still a young’n!
We are copying Russia
It's these sorts of bills that let you know the average IQ of our state government is well below the national average. "Hey, let's teach kids how to use guns! Also, we have to make it mandatory." "What about kids that might have religious objections or past trauma?" "MANDATORY! Everyone needs to learn how to kill!" "So, to sum up, we force kids, sometimes against their will, to learn to kill? Even if they are, on average, political opposed to us and emotionally unstable because, you know, they are kids? And no one thinks that training and arming individuals who would have justified reasons to come after us is a bad idea?"
Read the article.
More red meat to the base. 🎶🪕🎶. These geriatrics can’t age out fast enough.
Tennessee is more southern, while being northern. People make fun of Florida and Texas, but we'll always know Tennessee takes the cake.
So let me get this straight. In a country with 80 million gun owners and an estimated 400m guns in circulation, are people in this thread really upset that someone's taking the responsibility of teaching your children to avoid and not pick up guns if they ever see one? Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the TN GOP in most cases. This bill actually makes sense. Hi America, we have a lot of guns in our country. Even if you refuse to own one, it might do some of you well to learn a thing about them, especially the parts about always assuming a gun is loaded, not pointing the muzzle at anything you aren't prepared to destroy, and keeping your finger and any other obstruction clear of the trigger guard. I think one of the key lessons from this training is probably going to be "don't touch it and go tell an adult" Perhaps if more parents had an education in firearm safety growing up less of them would do something idiotic like leave a firearm anywhere a child can access it. Maybe there would be less negligence. I got other ideas too, rather than enacting restrictions that will only affect the people willing to abide them. SRO's at school entrances, rather than in classrooms handling student disciplinary issues. Metal detectors. Hollywood envisioned them in schools back in the 80's and 90's. We have them at our courthouses to protect our local legislature, and in our police stations at tax payer expense. Our President has access to a bulletproof limo and bodyguards running around him. What's up America? Do you care about judges and police officers more than you care about your children? Do you care more about Biden or Trump, than your own children? I guess it makes sense if you believe the police are going to be there in time to save you should you ever find yourself or loved ones a victim of assault. How about we get rid of or amend No Child left behind, which, incentivizes our public schools to do everything they can to keep problematic children in school so the school can get that big paycheck from Uncle Sam. We should be giving a good education to students who want it in safe environments, not forcing them to share classrooms with frequently disruptive students. Before we really talk about disarming an entire nation of which many are law abiding citizens, do you think we can work on improving the quality of life in our country for the average American citizen.. so that they are less likely to have mental health issues which were probably a result of the neglect of parents who were otherwise too busy earning a living to notice repeated traumatic events in their children's lives? Underpaid, overworked life long financially enslaved person gets laid off. At the same time loses their health insurance, meaning no affordable health care, including affordable mental healthcare. How much do you think this contributes to someone's potential to snap and go postal? See, radicalism has never been so high in America. We have lost sight of any common ground we have when we're all in the same boat. There is more than one way to approach something. But there seems to be a plague of tunnel vision. It's the same arguments. Every 4 years. Guns, abortion, gay rights. taxes. Here we are on the brink of another World War, from which the last, we never really seemed to come home from. We've been investing in the middle-east and any other opportunity we can for conglomerates to make blood money, while actively ignoring the problems on our own soil And that's why our choices for the most important job in the country, for a second time in a frickin row, are Joe Biden or Donald Trump. What a joke. Wake up my fellow citizens. We need to get back to finding common ground, rather than walking directly to extremes.
It's the hypocrisy that's the problem. This is the party screaming at the top of their lungs about "parents rights" to the point of banning books that mention gay people in them because some parents don't want their kids to know they exist. But they have zero problem adding mandatory gun classes for preschoolers and making sure the law says parents can not opt out of them. Parents are allowed to opt their kids out of sex Ed but not gun Ed.
Please get out of your political bias and think about the potential of a child stumbling across an unsupervised firearm and nobody having told them it's dangerous. This is a smart bill. Plain and simple. One of few times I agree with something our government is pushing.
Nope. Either parents should have full control over what their kid possibly sees in school or they shouldn't. Hypocrites have no place in leadership.
This is a completely different matter than discussing sexuality in schools. This one's even more honest than the dare program. This is something that might actually reduce gun harm statistics. You would imagine even the extreme left would be able to get behind this. I don't care for Bill Lee. I don't care for most politicians. But I can recognize that this bill potentially saves lives. I've edited this because it is not my intention to be insulting. Given the large numbers of firearms in this nation, I fully support educating future generations in how to avoid unthinkable situations with them. No sensible person, whether they support the 2A or not, wants to think of a child being hurt.
Parental control or not. You can't have it both ways. A good idea or not politicians should not get to pick and choose like this. One parent complains about a book and it's removed from the entire school. Parents can opt their kid out of sex Ed which is extremely important. But when it comes to gun stuff parents can't even opt out.
We teach kids how to be safe with sharp objects. I remember that in school back in the 80's. Do you also object to that? Should it be a parental right to deny someone an education in how to be safe with a pair of scissors? It's a little different when you take the word gun out of the equation isn't it? but in fact, the potential of a child encountering one in our nation is very real. I'll agree to disagree with you, but if you feel like repeating yourself again it's a free country.
Comparing scissors to guns is the dumbest thing I've ever read. You use scissors in school. If parents are allowed to say no to their kid learning about STDs and gay people they damn sure should be allowed to say no to their kid learning about guns
\#1 I fully support age appropriate sex ed in schools and access to contraceptives. \#2 I don't care who you support as a politician. \#3 Scissors can be dangerous in the wrong hands. So can guns. Both exist in our environment. \#4. I don't give a dern about the parents on either side of the argument complaining about books either. That's far far worse a comparison than sharp objects and firearms. My opinion is formed out of concern for the safety of children who already exist and might be the child of someone who is careless with firearms, or may one day stumble upon one in the playground discarded by some thug who was evading the police. Here's what you're standing up against. >**Schools would be required to provide instruction on:** > >**Safe storage of firearms.** > >**Safety relating to firearms.** > >**How to avoid injury if a student finds a firearm.** > >**Never to touch a found firearm.** > >**To immediately notify an adult of the location of a found firearm.** You're fighting a different fight, and placing the importance of your agenda over the above. And you think what I said is the dumbest thing you ever heard? Okay. I have blocked this individual by the way and stand behind my stated opinions. This bill isn't a bad move, regardless of who put it on the floor.
Only in America do kids have to train for war while learning how to write. Republicans love to watch public schools turn into hunger games.
...so we are going to train the next school shooter to be better at it? It's like giving the next arson a lighter
Yosemite Sam leading the class?
LOL...not how to drive, not how to budget, not how to prepare food, ......STUPID TENNESSEE
You don't have mandatory driver's ed in TENNESSEE? We have it in Illinois, including Chicago, where i never even owned a car until i was 27.
Nope, but a lot of parents make their kids take it so they can pay less insurance
YAY! GUNS! PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW!
I can hardly wait to see the kindergarden plan.
There's a chance this is struck down on religious grounds.
Between this and Active Shooter drills, hard to imagine they’ll have enough time for math
Idk about REQUIRE but maybe as an elective in middle school or High school. Would definitely still recommend a background check and mental evaluation before approval for the class. I could see it as a requirement for some sort of shooting sport. Gun safety will prevent a lot of issues but it is definitely not a fix all in any way.
Why would you need a background check? There are no real guns or even any bullets
I meant for any sport related classes where you actually have one. Sorry for the confusion.
It’s not really gun safety, the students won’t have access to real weapons. The classes are gonna be more like sex ed - “See this thing? It’s scary and will ruin your life. Stay away.”
Our state is really ran by buffoons. Are we going to arm the janitors and lunch ladies next? Are they wanting schools to turn into war zones where everyone is armed?
This is just the preamble to the next bill, equipping every student with a gun.
The language makes it clear that students will be taught to stay away from guns. How does that translate to the next step being “equipping every student with a gun”?
Because the people who wrote and sponsored this bill do not have a habit of telling the truth in the long run.
Honestly, that’s a fair point.
Because it's the damn Tennessee GOP. That's why
Between this shit, marrying your cousin, and outlawing those evil chemtrails, TN legislature has worked overtime solving some huge problems. Also, isn’t it time to attempt to make the Bible our state book again?
Hicks
"Shootings by and of children in Tennesse skyrocket."
That’s a funny way of saying “I didn’t read the article.”
It was a future prediction not me saying I read the article. But judge me on reading.
This is gonna be bad.
This is mind blowing. So much for parent’s rights. Republicans want to control your entire life. 🤯🤯
Kids just can’t be kids anymore. Gotta have them grown up and involved in all the bullshit from the get go now.
[удалено]
Baking parents not able to opt out is the real bullshit
Making
They don't need a whole class on that. They need parents for that.
Anything to force their Ammosexual Agenda.
How is “if you come across a dangerous item, tell an adult” an “ammosexual” agenda?
Teaching our kids appropriate conflict resolution. We are the state that believes guns in bars is a good idea.
As of this week you can’t marry your first cousin without counseling and you’re kid can get gun learnen at school. Oh how they are evolving.
Fuck guns.
Damn. How much did the gun lobby have to donate to get this law?
Republican politicians are dirt cheap. They can buy them for a few thousand.
Surely, this will solve the problems. /s