Gun safety classes among children as young as 6-year-old are taught in a rural school in Pennsylvania and the program has been part of the curriculum for many years
Yahoo Parenting reported that authorities at Forest Hills Elementary School in Sidman thought it was necessary to have a gun safety class as 80 percent of its residence are gun owners. "We teach kids how to be safe around guns, and not to be passive bystanders," said teacher Daniel Krestar.
We Are Central PA informed that the program was initiated 20 years ago by Cambria County District Attorney's office, which got in touch with local school districts that could be interested in having the "Gun Stop" safety program. Krestar has been teaching the children of Forest Hills Elementary since and while he's a fourth grade teacher, his gun classes have also covered kindergarteners. "We discuss that a gun, a knife, a club is not a good way to solve a problem. We should talk our problems out, treat other people the way we like to be treated," Krestar said.
The classes are held every October and parents are allowed to participate. However, they may also choose not to include their kids in the classes.
Gun violence in the America is a growing concern for many parents as a recent study on U.S. gun control showed that there is a substantial number of victims under the age of 14 who have died due to gun accidents. The worst tragedy involving guns and children happened in 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School where 20 innocent children died.
The Week reported that most Americans think that owning a gun makes them safer, which is why some 63 percent are gun owners. However, police and experts said that many of these owners are not skilled nor trained to handle firearms properly, and some states even issue permits to civilians without the training.
However, a parenting group is against safety programs like "Gun Stop." "It's atrocious to put the onus of gun safety onto children - this is an adult problem," said Jennifer Hoppe of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America in the Yahoo Parenting report. Her group instead encourages parents to be smart about gun ownership, to keep this under lock and key away from children and teens.
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