By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Everytown for Gun Safety, the billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobbying group which has pushed for virtually every gun control scheme, including outright bans, to come along in recent years has launched a new effort: firearms safety training.
The project is detailed at Everytown’s website, and is called Gun Owner Safety Training.
The idea seemed so ludicrous to Larry Keane, senior vice president and general counsel at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), that he penned a column back on Aug. 18 headlined, “Cue the Clown Car: Everytown Gun Control Wants to Train Gun Owners.”
“It would be easy to dismiss this as the stuff of comedy writers,” Keane wrote. “That’s like getting barbecuing lessons from vegans.”
Everytown contends on its training web page, “States should require a person to complete safety training prior to purchasing a gun or carrying a gun in public. Training ensures that gun owners are educated on the responsible practices for handling and using firearms, storing them securely at home and in vehicles, as well as carrying guns in public.”
However, this recommendation seems to ignore the fact that keeping and bearing arms is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution’s Second Amendment. A training requirement relegates the right to a government-regulated privilege, many people have argued.
On the Google search engine, an Artificial Intelligence description of Everytown reads, “Everytown for Gun Safety does not provide traditional firearms training for gun owners. Instead, the organization focuses on advocating for gun safety policies and supporting gun safety education, such as teaching the importance of secure gun storage and advocating for required training for gun owners before they purchase firearms. Their initiatives, like the Train Smart curriculum, aim to inform people about gun ownership facts, responsible gun handling, and secure storage.”
However, the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action has posted on Facebook a message alerting readers, “Throughout the country, radical gun-grabbing groups like Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action and Everytown are attempting to hold ‘gun-safety’ training sessions.
“These so-called ‘training classes’ aren’t just a political stunt; they are downright dangerous. The #1 rule of this training: Don’t Own A Gun.”
The post is complete with an image, apparently of a female instructor, holding what appears to be a Model 1911 semiautomatic pistol over her head by the front (muzzle) end of the slide, which is universally considered unsafe by observers responding to the image. One veteran firearms instructor told TGM via a social media post that the image came from a Lewiston, Idaho newspaper and the woman pictured was allegedly with Moms Demand Action “who attempted to teach firearm lessons at the Lewiston Library a few years back.”
According to Everytown’s training website, “Firearm safety training provides gun owners with the proper education on how to handle, use, store, and transport guns, and all gun owners should be required to complete safety training prior to buying one. In a self-defense experiment involving a firearm simulator, participants with lower levels of firearm training and experience performed worse than those with higher levels of training. Many unintentionally “shot” innocent bystanders or unarmed people.2 Firearm safety training is also crucial for gun owners who desire to carry their guns in public. In fact, law enforcement experts, firearm trainers, and military personnel overwhelmingly agree that people who carry concealed weapons in public should take firearm training, including live-fire training.”
In its own Facebook post, the NSSF observed, “You can’t make this up—Everytown for Gun Safety is now launching a training program for gun owners, called ‘Train Smart.’
“The same group that has advocated for bans, waiting periods, registries, and more red tape is now offering ‘Gun Ownership 101’ and other courses aimed at teaching firearm safety—courses that sidestep the real expertise found at local gun stores and ranges.
“Meanwhile, NSSF’s Project ChildSafe® has already partnered with 15,000+ law enforcement agencies and distributed more than 41 million free gun locks to help secure firearms safely and responsibly—no politics, no mandates.
“If you want credible, practical, and Constitution-respecting safety training, you’ll find it at your local range, not at a Bloomberg-backed lecture.”
And NRA notes in its message, “While seasoned firearm owners know not to trust these progressive anti-gun groups, this new tactic poses a significant risk to new shooters.
“Instead of attending a misinformed and flat-out dangerous anti-gun ‘training,’ shooters of all levels should instead opt for world-class, gold-standard training from the NRA,” the message says.
