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Panel backs brief, optional gun-safety instruction for students, citing existing Game and Fish resources
Summary
A bill to provide a short, age-appropriate firearms-safety lesson in schools was presented with Game and Fish Commission support; committee members approved the measure at the hearing.
Representative Joshua Bryant and Spencer Griffith of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission asked the committee to approve a bill that would make a short firearms-safety lesson available to school districts. The sponsor described the proposal as limited in scope: a brief, age-appropriate unit to teach students what a firearm is, the dangers associated with mishandling one, and what to do if a child encounters a firearm at home.
Spencer Griffith, deputy director of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said the commission has existing hunter-education and safety resources that could be adapted for classroom use and integrated into district learning-management systems. "We do have a learning management system that we've put in place that can work directly with school districts," Griffith said.
The commission and sponsor discussed options for delivery to reduce classroom burden, including short reminders in later years and optional online modules. Committee members asked no substantive questions recorded in the transcript and the sponsor moved the bill, which the record shows the committee approved at the hearing.
What’s next: The committee approved the proposal to allow school districts to implement a brief gun-safety unit using Arkansas Game and Fish materials; the transcript records a committee motion to pass the bill during the hearing.
