HB-1142, High School elective 2A course

[airboss]

9Feb2013 "AUSTIN, TEXAS– Today Representative James White filed HB 1142, which provides locals schools boards the discretion to add an elective course offering that would give their high school students the opportunity to gain an appreciation of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution."

http://whiteforeasttexas.com/?p=842

[suthdj]

whose version of the 2A and what it means. I was raised in Ill and not sure how but was taught about our history and the struggles that led to the founding of our nation. Now days I am not really sure what they teach. One of my favorite things in school was the days we would have movies(reel2reel) of history lessons about pioneers and such.

[srothstein]

The bill looks good to me. The interpretation of the second is not specified, but the bill requires instruction in safe use of firearms, including how to clean them. It doesn't say who has to teach the part about the second, but the firearms use must be taught by a police officer (and it must be a local officer, not a state officer) or by a CHL instructor. I have some faith in those teachers and I think the school would use one teacher for the whole course. I see it as a one day a week class for one semester.

And it is a great step towards getting firearms allowed on campus. I will support this bill.

[airboss]

Here's where the rubber meets the road for me.

In 1995, Eric Holder let a little too much out of the bag. In an interview with C-Span, he said that the "media and government should 'really brainwash people' into opposing firearm ownership," and used the anti-smoking campaign as an example. He went on to say:

“What we need to do is change the way in which people think about guns, especially young people, and make it something that’s not cool, that it’s not acceptable, it’s not hip to carry a gun anymore."

The antidote, kryptonite or whatever you'd like to call it for that is this. Somehow, we as gun enthusiasts need to promote shooting sports and shooting safety in general as being a positive to our young people. For example, I'd really like to see, say, skeet shooting as a UIL sport. We're a long ways from that now, but anything that would cast responsible firearms use and ownership in a positive light is something I'd favor.

[johnferg69]

In high school I was on the ROTC rifle team. Bolt action single shot .22 target rifles. Every morning at 7:30 (classes started at 8:15) the Sgt. would issued our rifles from the safe at school, we carried em to a school van in the parking lot, loaded up and went to the National Guard armory down the road.
I heard afterwards they switched to air rifles then did away with the rifle team altogether because of insurance issues.
I would love to see a Firearms Safety and Training class as an elective today. Actually I'd rather see it mandatory but that would offend to many people.

[airboss]

In high school I was on the ROTC rifle team. Bolt action single shot .22 target rifles. Every morning at 7:30 (classes started at 8:15) the Sgt. would issued our rifles from the safe at school, we carried em to a school van in the parking lot, loaded up and went to the National Guard armory down the road.
I heard afterwards they switched to air rifles then did away with the rifle team altogether because of insurance issues.
I would love to see a Firearms Safety and Training class as an elective today. Actually I'd rather see it mandatory but that would offend to many people.

How long ago might that have been?

[johnferg69]

In high school I was on the ROTC rifle team. Bolt action single shot .22 target rifles. Every morning at 7:30 (classes started at 8:15) the Sgt. would issued our rifles from the safe at school, we carried em to a school van in the parking lot, loaded up and went to the National Guard armory down the road.
I heard afterwards they switched to air rifles then did away with the rifle team altogether because of insurance issues.
I would love to see a Firearms Safety and Training class as an elective today. Actually I'd rather see it mandatory but that would offend to many people.

How long ago might that have been?

Graduated from Mesquite High in '87

[DEB]

I would really love to see this be put into place in Texas Public Schools. Not only would this teach firearms, but also responsibility and discipline. Our youth don't have the means to have access to firearms and their use as I did when I was young. This would open an entire new world to many of them.

[johnferg69]

In high school I was on the ROTC rifle team. Bolt action single shot .22 target rifles. Every morning at 7:30 (classes started at 8:15) the Sgt. would issued our rifles from the safe at school, we carried em to a school van in the parking lot, loaded up and went to the National Guard armory down the road.
I heard afterwards they switched to air rifles then did away with the rifle team altogether because of insurance issues.
I would love to see a Firearms Safety and Training class as an elective today. Actually I'd rather see it mandatory but that would offend to many people.

I was talking to my wife yesterday about this exact topic. When I was in ROTC, I became the drill team and color guard commander. We practiced before school and after school and sometimes on the weekends. We competed in drill team competitions around the state as well as presenting the colors at home sporting events. We used the 1903 A3 Springfield. Our school also had a rifle team with a indoor range at the school. We competed in shooting matches with other high schools. Also, one day I was going to give a speech in speech class about a bolt action rifle. When I got to school in the morning, I was putting my rifle in my locker when a teacher said "Can I see that?". I let him look at it and he said "Nice!" and then walked away. But hey, this was in the early 70's.

So I guess the ROTC doesn't support drill team anymore?

LOL! I remember those days! The big thing was getting to go to UT Arlington to compete against other schools. Not only did you get out of class for a day or two but you got to see all the college "babes" too! LOL
Every football game we put on our Class "A"s and worked as "Security". Mostly just helping the elderly up and down the stairs. But standing there in that uniform my mom showed me how to iron and the freshly polished brass and shined shoes made me proud!
I think the ROTC was partly funded by the school, partly by the military. I'm sure with budget restraints it was one of those things they figured they could do without. Sad!!!

[txjim42]

FWIW, the JROTC air-rifle team is still alive and well in Mesquite, perhaps just some of the schools dropped the option.

I'm all for firearms eduction being part of the academic process. If they can teach my kids about sex, drugs, communism, socialism and non-Christian religions, why can't they teach them about firearms safety, primitive and modern hunting and firearms marksmanship? (In a away that doesn't demonize firearms...has to be said unfortunately)