Should Gun Safety & Hunting Courses Be Offered in Michigan Schools?

A Michigan State Senator who represents North Muskegon has proposed a bill that would offer schools an opportunity to have gun safety and hunting courses.

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Hunters' Safety

A hunter safety course back in the day started with a dad or grandfather introducing their son/daughter to the outdoors and that is where kids learned the basics in Michigan.

Anyone wanting to hunt in the state of Michigan born after January 1, 1960, must have a hunter safety certificate to purchase any Michigan hunting license.  I took the course at the local community center in Holly when I was growing up. I have since taken my son's older brother Isaak to his hunter safety course in Croton a few years back and will be enrolling my son in that same class in 2024.

There is nothing like getting into the woods with family and friends but it is important to do it safely. There is a bill that has been proposed for hunter safety and gun safety to be taught in schools. I will say it would be convenient for those who like both but as a hunter and a gun owner in today's world, I just don't think it makes sense. I think the current programs that are available are doing a very good job.

Gun Safety

Gun safety when I was growing up was done a the hunter safety course or at gun clubs and gun ranges. As much as Michigan is a hunting and gun community, I'm not sure having this as a class at school makes the most sense either. Yes, people who have or own guns should take a safety class but with all the shootings that have happened on the streets and in Oxford, I just don't think public school is the place. There are plenty of gun groups that offer these courses all over West Michigan and around the state. They are doing a great job and it's not that hard to find a class that has room.

Should Gun Safety and Hunter Safety Be Taught In Michigan Public Schools?

According to WOOD, Jon Bumstead who is a state senator here in Michigan proposed a bill for gun safety and hunter safety courses to be offered in public schools. Bumstead has managed to get some backing from the Michigan Department of Education and the Department of Natural Resources.

Hunting numbers are down but a course in school will not increase that. Many hunters stopped hunting when they could not bait anymore for deer. A lot of parents in Michigan didn't take up the sport and pass it down to the next generation of youth. Kids today grow up playing video games and playing on the internet and hunting is not part of the majority of the new generation of kids coming up.

I am pretty sure the real reason for trying to get these courses in school is to try and change the perception some people have regarding guns and there is usually a bottom line when something like this comes up as in selling more guns. Do I want kids to take hunter and gun safety classes, the answer is yes but not in public schools. The courses that are available right now for both are doing a good job. Adding these types of classes to schools will just create more division in Michigan when it comes to both hunting and gun safety.