(The Center Square) – The Senate has stalled on a bill which would create a firearms education program for schools, after the House passed it with overwhelming bipartisan support.
House Bill 4285 instructs the Michigan Department of Education to work with the Department of Natural Resources to make a model program of firearm safety instruction available to all public schools as an elective course for grades 6-12.
“The goal of this legislation is simply to help more young people know how to safely and capably exercise their Second Amendment rights,” said Rep. Joseph Pavlov, R-Smiths Creek, following the bill’s passage in the House. Pavlov sponsored the legislation in the House.
“We want the next generation of leaders to be the kind of people who know the incredible responsibility and capabilities that come with operating a firearm,” he said. “This bill will help make our communities safer.”
Under the legislation, firearms or ammunition would not be able to be brought into a school building.
Schools would not be able to require students to complete the course for graduation, and it would be considered an “optional extracurricular class.”
According to the bill, schools would also be allowed to add the program to an existing course “for the purpose of teaching self-expression and enjoyment of recreational activity.” That said, upon request from a student or parent, students must be excused from attending.
When putting together the course, the bill instructs that the departments include the following topics:
• Proper usage and handling of firearms
• Safe cleaning and maintenance of firearms
• Different types of firearms
• Safe hunting practices
Other topics could also be included in the course, which must be taught by an individual who has been certified as a hunter education instructor by the Department of Natural Resources.
The National Rifle Association has expressed its support for the bill, which would allow students to meet the firearm safety instruction requirement for receiving a hunting license in Michigan.
Currently, the bill sits untouched in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture after the House passed it in early June with only seven no votes. If passed, it would require the program to be available by Sept. 1 of this year.
