Nichole Osinski

nosinski@thespectrum.com

Utah middle school students may soon be learning gun safety if one state senator's bill becomes law.

The bill, proposed by Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, would set aside money for a pilot program for middle schools to hire an individual or organization outside of the school system to provide the students with training. The instructions would focus on the concept of stop, don’t touch and call for help if there is a firearm.

Instructors would not bring guns into the classrooms but rather teach students not to touch or pick up a gun if they do encounter one. It would be left up to the school whether or not students would receive instruction on what to do in the event of an active shooter.

“The reality is guns are ever-present in our society,” Weiler said. “Hopefully, any parents with guns in their homes are teaching their children what to do and what not to do.”

However, Weiler said he is more concerned about children with parents who do not have guns in the home and have not learned what to do around guns. He said many of these children around the ages of 12-14 are going into their friends’ or neighbors’ homes unaccompanied by an adult and are putting themselves in situations where they may encounter a firearm for the first time.

Weiler said he chose the age group because he believed they would be mature enough to talk about the issues yet still be young enough that they are open to being taught a new lesson in safety.

The idea for the bill came after the tragic incident in Kaysville City in 2014 when two girls came home from church and found a gun left at the residence by a relative. One of the girls picked the gun up, accidentally shooting and killing her 12-year-old sister.

The bill would provide $75,000 in funds to schools for the courses on a first-come first-serve basis. A bid would be put out for companies to turn in proposals to the state who would then decide who is qualified to teach the classes.

Passing the bill would not make the program mandatory within Utah schools but would allow them the option to do so. If a school decides to go ahead with the program, students' parents would then have to opt them into the program.

The bill will be heard in an upcoming state Senate committee meeting and voted on the Senate floor. The same bill had already been brought before the Senate last year. It passed last March in a landslide margin but there was not enough time for the state House of Representatives to look at the bill. This year, Weiler said the process is beginning earlier in order for the bill to make it all the way through.

Iron County School District Superintendent Shannon Dulaney said she does not know if the schools are the place to teach firearm safety — it's more of a community-based issue. She noted that while she supports safety for both staff and students, offering the courses through a community service-type of program might be more appropriate.

“I’ve been at the district level for about 13 years and it’s never been a conversation I’ve been a part of,” Dulaney said. “I think it’s a family issue and it’s a family decision; it’s not a state or a school decision or responsibility.”

Washington County School District Superintendent Larry Bergeson echoed Dulaney’s opinion, saying this kind of subject should be taught in the home or outside of school.

Bergeson said he understands that not every student is going to receive gun safety education, noting there are better ways to have these discussions than in a school setting. He said the district is reluctant on this bill and feels bringing the program into the school would raise anxiety among parents.

“I think they should know what gun safety is and the dangers around a gun, but I’m not always in favor of having everything addressed in school,” Bergeson said. “It just seems like a lot of this could be addressed just as easy if not better at home around families and parents.”

Follow Nichole Osinski on Twitter, @nrosinski, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/osinskireporter. Call her at 435-674-6231.

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