School Gives 2nd Graders A Gun Safety Class Without Telling Parents

A mother in Jacksonville is upset her 7-year-old was educated about gun safety

A few months ago, I wrote a story about a school that sent around forms allowing parents to opt their kids out of the pledge of allegiance. Meanwhile, a Jacksonville, Fla elementary school didn’t tell parents a thing before they taught second graders about gun safety.

According to Fox30Jax, the mother of a 7-year-old at Mandarin Oaks Elementary school is upset that her son was educated about gun safety without her permission.

The lessons are part of a program created by the NRA, called Eddie Eagle. Duval County Public Schools, the system in which Mandarin Oaks Elementary sits, stated that parents are usually informed of the program beforehand, and given the ability to opt out. But not this time. And the mother of one student, who didn’t want to be identified, isn’t happy about it.

The mother teaches her son that all guns are bad, and says her parenting has been undermined by what she referred to as NRA propaganda.

“They’ve just undone seven years of parenting in one hour,” she complained, detailing the comments her son made upon returning home from school with a pamphlet from the program. “’Mommy, you’re wrong. Toy guns are OK. See, guns are OK, mom. See? It says so right here.”

The superintendent of the school system issued a statement that admits parents should have been informed and allowed to opt out of the lesson. But he insists the gun safety program, while created by the NRA, “was guided by specialists in education, public safety, public health, and child development.”

Obviously guns and gun safety are divisive topics, and with seemingly every other American owning a gun these days, it’s important that children know the deal. But at seven years old, unless the lesson is, “If you see a gun, run!” I’m not sure I’d want my children learning the ins-and-outs of gun safety either, and I definitely wouldn’t want the NRA involved.

His statement goes on to explain the use of the feathered spokesman. “Our choice of Eddie Eagle is based on its use of colorful and animated characters that a second grader can respond to, and content that is embedded in music to make the learning fun and engaging.”

Yes, let’s make guns fun and engaging! Yay!

I’d prefer you made the topic frightening and excruciating, but I happen to think the NRA is a toxic organization with no concern for anything but increasing its own power and profit. An NRA-sponsored lesson on gun safety is like Camel Cigarettes sponsoring the nurses’s office. Complete with a similar cuddly mascot designed to make dangerous and life-threatening pastimes seem like a total blast.

Next time, the school should leave the topic to parents, or, at the very least, fire a warning shot before indoctrinating our children.

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