Hadden introduces firearms-safety education bill; unanimous-consent motion objected to and measure sent to committee

Mister Hadden introduced a bill on the House floor directing the Department of Education and the Department of Natural Resources to develop a firearms-safety education program for students.

On the floor Hadden said the program would teach students to "never touch a firearm" and to notify an adult immediately; he emphasized that "no live firearms are used" in the curriculum and that the material must be politically neutral. Hadden also cited statistics on child firearm incidents, saying South Carolina has "lost more than 500 children to firearm incidents in the last 2 decades" and asserting the state's rate is "40 percent higher than the national average." Those claims were presented as part of Hadden's floor explanation and were not accompanied by supporting citations in the transcript.

After Hadden asked the House to consider the bill "without reference" (a unanimous-consent shortcut that would bypass committee referral), Mister Harris objected. The Speaker then directed that the measure be referred to the Education and Public Works Committee for consideration.

The transcript records only Hadden's floor explanation and the objection; it does not include committee debate or sponsorship details beyond the floor introduction. Next steps are committee consideration, where staff and members may formally vet curriculum language and program structure.