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A Republican bill that would require a National Rifle Association gun safety course for Arizona middle- and high school students passed out of committee Monday evening.听

The measure would require all Arizona schools to teach students about firearms safety at least once between sixth grade and the end of high school.

by Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, would require schools to participate in the Arizona Gun Safety Program which Nguyen said would help . The bill requires instruction only on gun safety, and the legislation prevents instruction that would teach children how to fire guns or hunt.

鈥淭his bill is not about bringing firearms into school,鈥� Nguyen told the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee. Nguyen for the Arizona Scorpions Junior High-Power Rifle team and also serves as President of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association.听

Although Nguyen insisted that no NRA material would be distributed to students, that鈥檚 not correct. He acknowledged that the bill was designed to require schools to use the 鈥淓ddie Eagle鈥� gun safety program. The NRA created 鈥淓ddie Eagle,鈥� an who teaches gun safety alongside his 鈥渨ing team,鈥� in 1988. Its use is mandated in schools in North Carolina and Oregon.

The 鈥淓ddie Eagle鈥� instruction is designed for younger children 鈥� generally between preschool and third grade.

The program was deemed largely ineffective in real-world scenarios by the and some critics have argued that the program is an attempt to .听

A report by gun violence prevention group the points out that the program itself actually came into creation in Florida in reaction to legislation that would have subjected parents to penalties if they store a firearm in a manner that led to a child鈥檚 death or injury.听

Since the program鈥檚 inception, it has seen a in the number of children it has seen utilizing it.听

Opt-in vs Opt-out

The major debate on the bill was about whether it would be opt-in or opt-out. As the bill is currently written, all students would have to take it unless their parents removed them from the class.听

Rep. Daniel Hernandez, D-Tucson, proposed an amendment that would have allowed for students to opt-in to the program instead.听

Ngyuen said he was against the amendment, adding that the education needed to be 鈥渆nforced鈥� as it is a 鈥渟afety鈥� issue for students.听

鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 seem like an outlier to ask for this sort of thing to be added,鈥� Hernandez said, adding that Republicans have pushed a slew of 鈥減arental rights鈥� bills in 2022 aimed at letting opt-in to what their children are being taught. Gun safety, he said, should not be any different.听

That argument didn鈥檛 fly with the committee鈥檚 Republicans, who rejected the amendment.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of any parent in their right mind that wouldn鈥檛 want this,鈥� Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said. 鈥淚 would forward the name and address of the parent to child protective services if they opted out of this.鈥�

Ngyuen argued that it is important for all students to learn the importance of safety around firearms, as the number of accidental deaths related to firearms is already too high. During the pandemic, accidental discharge of firearm deaths by children .听

The bill itself passed along party lines and will next head to the full House for a vote.

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