Bill would create firearm safety pilot program in Utah schools
Feb 17, 2021, 8:27 PM
FILE. Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A bill approved by a Utah house committee this week would offer high school students the chance to take a firearm safety course at school.
H.B.258 sponsored by Rep. Rex Shipp (R-Cedar City) would create a 3-year pilot program. The Firearm Safety in Schools course would last for one semester and would be considered part of a student’s physical education class.
“I think it’s important that our school kids have an opportunity to learn about firearm safety,” said Rep. Shipp at a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee on February 16.
“If you haven’t grown up in a family that does hunting or shooting, you don’t learn the proper safety of firearms.”
The class proposed in H.B.258 would be an elective, available to students in grades 9 through 12. It would also provide an option for parents to prevent their children from taking the course.
“This also covers marksmanship and state laws governing firearms,” Shipp said.
The bill’s sponsor says students would use non-working, replica firearms in the training course. Shipp stressed the importance of firearm safety, and children having a chance to be exposed to such information, during a committee meeting on Tuesday.
The House Judiciary Committee voted to approve the bill with a 6-3 vote, advancing it to the full house for discussion.
