There is a bill in the Oregon legislature that would promote gun safety education in the public schools - presumably at the high school level. It is not clear as to the funding, but it wouldn't be beyond the NRA to furnish instruction as a public service. If the instruction were strictly limited to hunting rifles - of dubious value and/or appeal for most urban teens - there would be little controversy. I can hear the calls from the gun control factions about how this program will promote gun usage among teens and endanger innocent lives. This is only so much hogwash with about as much credibility as the self appointed guardians of morality have been making about any sex education that doesn't outright condemn any and all forms of premarital sex. The chances of our schools turning into well armed combat zones are as unlikely as the teenage brothels envisioned by the shrill voices of our morality guardians.
The problem is that guns and sex have been glorified in today's media beyond the bounds dictated by reality. The use of guns/sex will not bolster one's status in society nor compensate for a lack of self esteem. Neither sex/guns should be considered as a social equalizer or weapon to be used indiscriminately against those with whom one has a grievance. Neither guns/sex for a young adult should be considered as an unavoidable rite of passage into adulthood. Both the use of guns/sex are potentially fatal for every person involved and both activities should be postponed until a significantly higher level of maturity and personal responsibility has been attained. This attitude has not been consistently portrayed in the past by all educators involved with sex education programs; hopefully the NRA will act more responsibly than a small minority of educators have done.
4/23/97